Starlight
by skybluewriter
Summary: A different version of the New Prophecy: Starlight. What will happen when the cats of the four Clans reach their new home? Will Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight's relationship last? Will Leafpaw choose Crowfeather over her life as a medicine cat? And will Mudclaw and Hawkfrost's evil destroy the entire forest (Or maybe just a few favorite characters)? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1: New Home

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

**Author's note: First of all, this is my first Fanfic; so if I'm doing anything wrong, please tell me. Please, please review! I want to know what you think. As I said in the summary, I haven't actually read Starlight, so I would also like to know how close my story is to the book. I'll try to keep the names, mentors, and plot the same, but other than that it might be different, depending on what I want to do. (It's Brambleclaw and Leafpaw's POV, right?) Also, when you review, keep in mind that this is my first fanfic, and don't be too harsh. Criticism is okay, but if you don't like my story, tell me why and I'll try to fix it.**

The New Prophecy: Starlight: My version

Chapter 1

Brambleclaw twitched his whiskers as a leaf landed on his nose, making it fall to the ground. He crouched lower, trying to blend in with the dirt on the forest floor. He did not want to be seen by the plump mouse he was after. His mouth watered as he drank in the creature's scent. How good it would taste to his empty stomach…

Suddenly a yowl awakened his senses. Squirrelpaw flung herself out of the tree above Brambleclaw's head and landed heavily on the mouse before it had a chance to run.

"Hey!" yelped Brambleclaw indignantly. "That was my mouse!"

"Well," she teased, "At the speed you were moving, that mouse would have died of old age before you caught it!"

Brambleclaw growled and gently batted at her. "Fine. But you have to share that with me."

Squirrelpaw nodded. "Okay, but I told Firestar I'd catch some prey for the elders. I'll catch some more and then we can eat this back at camp."

Brambleclaw agreed, then bid her goodbye and headed back to the makeshift camp that the four Clans of cats had been sharing since they had arrived in their new home. They had originally lived in a large forest on the other side of the mountains, but had been forced to find a new home when Twoleg monsters had taken over the forest.

It had started when Brambleclaw, Squirrelpaw, Tawnypelt, Crowpaw, Stormfur, and Feathertail had been sent by StarClan to find Midnight, where they would hear of a prophecy. Midnight turned out to be a talking badger, and she told them that they must leave their home and follow the path of the dying warrior to a new one.

When they returned from their trip, (Unfortunately without Feathertail, as she had sacrificed herself to save a tribe of cats in the mountains) they found the forest in a state of chaos because of the monsters. They had crushed everything in sight with their gigantic paws, and once they had destroyed three Clan camps and Fourtrees, the sacred place where the Clans met for Gatherings, the Clans decided to abandon their home and find a new one.

Brambleclaw, Tawnypelt, Squirrelpaw, Crowpaw, and Stormfur had led the four Clans over the mountains, following the path of a shooting star. (The dying warrior) They had finally come to the spot where they were now, which was plentiful with hills, woods, lakes, and streams.

oooooooo

Brambleclaw arrived back at the camp that the cats had assembled around a large lake just as Firestar, the leader of ThunderClan, was sending out scouting parties.

"All right," he called out to the cats sitting around him. "I'd like to explore some of the territory more so we know where to find the best prey, water, and herbs. Blackstar and I are each going to send out five warriors. "Mousefur, Dustpelt, Cloudtail, and Sorreltail, go for me, please. Leafpaw, why don't you go too, so that you can find some herbs?" The chosen cats nodded and left for the right side of the lake.

Meanwhile, Blackstar's five cats, which included Tawnypelt, headed off for the left side of the lake.

"Brambleclaw!" Firestar called sharply as soon as he was done. "After you've put that rabbit in the fresh kill pile, could you collect some moss from the other side of the lake? The queens would like more for their bedding."

"Sure, Firestar," the amber cat called after he had deposited the fresh kill. He bounded off in the direction of the moss, nodding to Squirrelpaw as he went, who had just arrived back from hunting.

"Don't forget to save part of that mouse for me," he mewed.


	2. Chapter 2: Exploring

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

**Author's note: First of all, I'm sorry it took me so long to write this chapter. I've been pretty busy this week. Anyways, thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you guys like my story so far. Thanks also, Amberleaf, for the info about where the Clans live, I'll keep that in mind as I write the next chapters. Again, please review!! I'm going to go back to chapter one and change a few things to make it better, so if it looks different, that's why. Hope you like the next chapter!**

Chapter 2

Leafpaw bounded after Sorreltail, following the path that led off the side of the lake.

"Hey," she mewed.

"Hi, Leafpaw," Sorreltail replied.

She then sighed. "I can't get over the fact that we're never going to go back to the forest. I feel like I'll wake up one day and be back in the ThunderClan camp, with everything the way it used to be."

"Yeah, I know. It's strange to think that we're never going to go back. Hopefully, though, this place will be an even better home than the forest. I haven't seen any Twolegs yet, so with any luck, they won't bother us."

Sorreltail nodded. "I wonder when we'll divide territories. Even though the Clans have bonded pretty well, we'll have to go back to four Clans someday."

Leafpaw agreed. "We have to find a new moonstone and gathering place too…" She trailed off, thinking. It seemed like everything was so uncertain. Would they be able to find everything they would need? What would happen if they couldn't find a new moonstone? How would they contact StarClan, and how would new leaders receive nine lives?

Leafpaw's thoughts were interrupted when Cloudtail called to them. "Hey, Leafpaw, Sorreltail, hurry up! You're lagging so far behind that we wouldn't even notice if a badger came up and ate you!"

"Sorry, Cloudtail," Leafpaw replied, and sprinted after Sorreltail to catch up with the rest of the group.

oooooooo

Soon the moorland that encircled the lake gave way to marshland, which housed grass, moss, and reeds. It was damp with dew and water that trickled down from the lake, and with every step, water pooled around Leafpaw's feet.

"Yuck," she complained to Sorreltail as she stopped to shake water off her paws. "I don't know how RiverClan cats stand this."

"Me neither," meowed Sorreltail, who was having the same problem.

As much as Leafpaw disliked the boggy area, she was pleased about how many useful herbs it contained. There was a large supply of horsetail, and also a healthy bush of juniper berries growing out of the grass. In addition, she saw thick cobwebs wrapped around a tree branch, which medicine cats used frequently to stop bleeding.

Knowing that she would not be able to carry all of the herbs back to camp, Leafpaw decided that cobwebs were the most needed; as many cats had acquired cuts on the journey. She picked her way across the sodden ground and leapt onto the branch that the cobwebs were hanging from. After pulling a clump of them off, she peered out at the lake, noticing more with her higher position.

"What's that?" she mewed to Sorreltail about a dark mass near the shore of the lake.

"Looks like an island," answered Sorreltail, following her gaze. "It's pretty big, too," she said. "Probably big enough for all for Clans. Hey! Wouldn't that make a good place for a Gathering?"

"I don't know," replied Leafpaw, leaping off of the tree. "How would we get there?"

"We could swim," Sorreltail suggested. It isn't that far away from the shore."

"But most cats can't swim," she pointed out. "It would be hard for the apprentices and elders to make it across."

Sorreltail looked hurt. "Well, it was just an idea. Maybe we can use it for something else."

Leafpaw shrugged. "Maybe."

They then retraced their steps back towards the other cats, which were lapping from a clear river that connected to the lake.

"RiverClan would like this," observed Mousefur. "I can see fish in it, and there's some stones over there that you could use to get across."

"And they're the only ones who actually like this marshland," Dustpelt remarked, flicking droplets of water off his paws.

Suddenly, the stalk of reeds that the group was standing by quivered, and Russetfur, the ShadowClan deputy, emerged. The hair on the back of Leafpaw's neck stood up, and she remembered the rivalry that had existed between the Clans before they had come together to make the journey across the mountains.

"Don't worry," the ginger she-cat said, seeing her reaction. "We're just a hunting patrol. Mistyfoot wanted to catch some fish from the river." Behind her, Mistyfoot, Mudclaw, and Crowfeather appeared.

Leafpaw's gaze was drawn to Crowfeather, whose smoky coat glistened in the afternoon sun. His eyes met hers, and she drew in her breath sharply, a prickling feeling shooting through her pelt. Leafpaw looked away, feeling slightly confused. Forcing herself to pay attention to the conversation the two groups of cats were now having, she pushed away the strange feeling.

"Shouldn't we be getting back?" questioned Sorreltail once the cats had finished talking. "It's almost sunhigh."

Dustpelt nodded. "We'll head back the way we came."

Back on dry ground, many scents reached Leafpaw of small animals hiding under the brush. This reminded her of how hungry she was. "Hey, Dustpelt," she called to the dark brown tom. "Can't we hunt before we reach the camp?"

He nodded again. "Go ahead. You can find your way back to camp on your own, can't you?"

Leafpaw nodded, then beckoned to Sorreltail with her tail. "Come on!" she mewed. "I'm starving!"


	3. Chapter 3: Finding Camps Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

**Author's note: Okay, here's the third chapter! I'm soooo sorry it took me sooooo long to write this chapter, but I was on vacation for a while and didn't have time to write. I'll do the next one more quickly. Changing the subject, I told myself when I first started writing this that I wouldn't read the actual Starlight until I finished writing it, because that way I wouldn't copy it. Unfortunately though, a few weeks ago I had a moment of weakness and went out and bought the book. So, I now know how the book goes, but I'll still try to keep mine fairly different. Moving on, I want to remind you to please, PLEASE review! It's cool to know what you think! Anyway, I've said enough, go ahead and read the chapter. **

Chapter 3

A few days later, the weather turned cold and windy, a sign that leaf-bare was coming. Brambleclaw knew that they would have to find camps for each Clan quickly, for the hill that they had settled on was unsheltered from the wind and rain, and would be miserable during the coldest days.

He was especially worried about Tallstar, the leader of WindClan. The elderly cat was on his last life, and the journey over the mountains had drained the last of his strength. Brambleclaw was afraid that he would soon be joining StarClan, and he couldn't help but wonder if Mudclaw, the deputy, was the right cat to lead WindClan after him.

In the meantime, though, he was enjoying the company of the other Clans. He could talk with his sister, Tawnypelt, whenever he pleased, and had fewer duties now that prey was plentiful and there were no border patrols.

As a result, he was almost disappointed when Leopardstar, the leader of RiverClan, announced that they would soon be dividing territories.

"Cats of all Clans," she yowled that afternoon. "Now that we have recovered from our journey, the time has come to find camps for all the Clans. However, we first need to find out more about the areas around the lake and which places are best suited to each Clan. Therefore, the deputies of each are going to go on a daylong journey to explore the area. Also, because ThunderClan's deputy is no longer with us, Brambleclaw will be traveling in his place."

Brambleclaw raised his head in surprise when she said his name. He knew Firestar would have to pick someone to go, as ThunderClan's deputy, Graystripe, had been taken by Twolegs, but he had expected a more experienced warrior to make the trip, like Sandstorm or Dustpelt.

He padded up to the three leaders (Tallstar was resting in the shade) and sat down next to Mistyfoot, feeling pleased that he had been chosen. As soon as Russetfur and Mudclaw had also reached them, Firestar began to explain the journey.

"So, as we said, we'd like you to explore the areas around the lake to find the best places for camps. Remember that you'll need room for the whole Clan, but also protection from enemies. ThunderClan will need woodland, ShadowClan pinewoods, RiverClan water, and WindClan hills and open spaces. Try to find streams or paths that could be used as a division between territories. And be on the lookout for foxes, badgers, Twolegs, and anything else that might be dangerous."

"Keep an eye out for a new moonstone or Gathering place too," added Blackstar.

Firestar nodded. "I expect that you'll be back by sundown, perhaps a bit later," he predicted. "Try to judge your time carefully. You shouldn't spend the night somewhere besides here, seeing as we don't really know what dangers there are in this area. Get plenty of rest tonight, and you'll leave tomorrow morning. "

oooooooo

The next day dawned cold but sunny. Brambleclaw awoke next to Squirrelpaw, who was mumbling in her sleep. He yawned and stretched, being careful not to wake her, and then padded over to where Mistyfoot, Russetfur and Mudclaw were already sitting.

"Finally," Mudclaw, the deputy of WindClan spat, being his usual ill-tempered self. "It's about time you got here."

Brambleclaw ignored him, instead asking Mistyfoot, "Should we tell the leaders that we're leaving?"

She shook her head. "I've already told Leopardstar."

They then set off for the left side of the lake, Russetfur in the lead. They cautiously passed the fenced area that horses lived in, and crossed the stretch of marshland that Leafpaw's patrol had explored a few days before. At Mistyfoot's request, they headed toward the sound of a large river nearby.

"Mousefur said that it has fish in it," she explained.

Upon coming to it, they discovered that she was right. Small, silver fish darted through the water. Mistyfoot gazed across it, looking pleased. "Mind if I swim across and check it out?" she mewed to the other cats. "It might work for RiverClan's camp!"

Russetfur nodded. "Go ahead."

She vanished into the reeds.

Brambleclaw shifted uncomfortably, aware that Mudclaw's eyes had fallen on him as soon as the she-cat was gone. He was used to cats staring at him simply because he looked so much like his murderous father, Tigerstar, but the distrust still bothered him. Trying to be polite anyway, he asked, "How is Tallstar?"

"I'm afraid he won't last much longer. I will be leader soon." The dark brown tom answered.

Brambleclaw was surprised at the coldness in Mudclaw's voice. Every cat knew that he wanted to be leader of WindClan, but something told Brambleclaw that he would go to great, and maybe terrible, lengths to get it.

He was saved from saying anything more by Mistyfoot, who appeared through the reeds dripping wet.

"It's perfect!" she meowed excitedly. "A stream branches off from the river a ways up the hill, and the area between the two is sheltered with reeds and brambles. I think it would make a great place for a camp!"

Brambleclaw congratulated her along with Russetfur and Mudclaw, but he couldn't help feeling a bit jealous. With the lake, river, and many streams nearby, he wasn't surprised that RiverClan had easily found a camp. But so far he hadn't seen many trees, and that was a necessity for ThunderClan, as they had lived in a forest for as long as he could remember. What if ThunderClan couldn't find a suitable camp? He pushed away these thoughts, trying to stay positive. Perhaps there would be more appropriate places on the other side of the lake.

"I think we should hunt before we go any further," suggested Mudclaw. "I'm so hungry I could eat a badger!"

His comment made Brambleclaw realize just how hungry he was, too.

"I'll catch some fish," Mistyfoot decided.

Russetfur nodded. "The rest of us can hunt as well," he said. "Then we can meet back here once we're done."

As soon as the other deputies had agreed, Brambleclaw bounded off into the bushes. There he followed the scent of a squirrel to a large tree, where the small creature was nibbling on a nut. He easily caught it, and then crouched down to devour it in swift, hungry bites.

Once finished, the dark brown tabby headed back toward the river, where he stopped to get a drink. A few minutes later, Mistyfoot, Russetfur, and Mudclaw also appeared.

"Which way should we go now?" he asked, eager to carry on with their journey.

"I think we should cross the river and continue around the lake," Mistyfoot mewed. "There's nothing but a Thunderpath over there." She flicked her tail in the opposite direction of the lake.

Mudclaw agreed. "StarClan knows we don't need to run into any Twolegs or their monsters again."

Brambleclaw shivered, an image of a giant tree-eater ripping a tree from the ground running though his mind. He still hated to think about their home in the forest being destroyed. Suddenly a wave of anger coursed through him. Stupid Twolegs! He yowled to himself. There was plenty of other land out there that they could destroy, why did they have to pick the cats' beloved home? If only they had picked another place to dig up, then the cats wouldn't have nearly starved to death, they wouldn't have had to travel over the mountains, they wouldn't be facing decisions about where to find camps and how to divide territories, Graystripe would still be here, and Larchkit and Hollykit would still be alive. These thoughts sent a fresh wave of emotions through him; one that was mostly filled with longing for everything to be the way it was before the Twolegs had started to destroy the forest. If only he could be back in ThunderClan's old camp, with the kits mewling in the nursery, the elders dozing in the sun, and the apprentices play-fighting beside their den.

Suddenly Brambleclaw was aware of the fact that Mistyfoot, Mudclaw, and Russetfur were all staring at him.

"Are you okay?" Mistyfoot asked. "You look like you've just seen a badger."

Brambleclaw shook himself, trying to clear his thoughts. "I'm fine," he assured her. "Let's keep going."

Mistyfoot looked at him suspiciously, but made no comment. Instead she turned and led them across the river.

oooooooo

They traveled the next few foxlengths without hassle until they came to a large area of the hard, black stuff that described a Thunderpath. However, it was much wider than normal Thunderpaths, and quieter. It ended abruptly at the edge of the lake, where a small, wooden half-bridge hung out over the murky gray water. The other end of it narrowed into two small paths, one heading into the trees on the side of it, and the other leading away from the lake. There was also a small Twoleg nest at the side of the black area.

"What's it for?" asked Mudclaw, leaning cautiously forward to sniff the substance. "The scent of Twolegs and monsters is stale."

"I think Twolegs come here in Greenleaf," Mistyfoot answered. "They sit by the shore and let their kits splash in the water."

"How do you know?" asked Brambleclaw curiously.

"There was a similar thing by the river back in the forest, only smaller," she explained. "There was lots of Twolegs in Greenleaf, but not many at other times."

Russetfur looked over the area once more before padding to the other side. "The scent of Twolegs by the nest is stale too," he reported. "And there aren't any monsters on these little dirt paths."

Mistyfoot nodded. "We'll tell the Clans about this place, but I don't think we need to worry about it too much. Let's keep going."

The other side of the black spot gave way to tall sharp-scented pine trees. Part of Brambleclaw's worry that ThunderClan wouldn't find a suitable camp melted away when he saw them, because although it wasn't the deciduous woodland that he was used to, it was better than the open marsh.

Russetfur's ears pricked up as they approached the trees. Brambleclaw knew he would be eager to explore this area, because pine trees had surrounded ShadowClan's old territory. He too was looking forward to reaching the cover of the trees; he felt very vulnerable out in the open.

"What direction should we head?" Russetfur questioned once they were under the vegetation.

"I think we should stay fairly close to the lake," Mistyfoot answered. "We don't want to get lost."

"We better hurry," added Mudclaw, glancing up at sky. "It's almost sunhigh, and we need to be back by sundown."

As they headed deeper into the trees, the ground became steeper, and pine needles and pinecones crunched underfoot. Although it reminded him of ShadowClan's old territory, Brambleclaw doubted that they would be able to settle here. There was no open clearing that would be able to house a large number of cats, and no undergrowth hiding prey. ShadowClan would have a hard time protecting themselves from unwanted visitors and catching prey.

The nagging thought that perhaps this was not the place StarClan wanted them to be re-entered Brambleclaw's mind, sending a cold shiver of dread down his spine. What would the Clans think of him and the other three cats if they had led them to the wrong place?

However, he refused to listen to this voice. Even if this new place was not the same as their old home, it would hopefully be a place where the Clans could grow and thrive.

Suddenly a pungent smell filled the tabby's nose, something other than the pine trees and the sparrow that was singing on a nearby branch. He registered the scent, then stopped dead in his tracks. "Fox!" he hissed.

**Well, that's the end of that chapter! You know what to do now! See that little purple tab below this that says 'Submit review'? Click it! Really, it only takes like 30 seconds to write a review, so please do. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4: Finding Camps Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors

**A/N:**** Here's the 4****th**** chapter! First, though, I want to let you know that I'll be going back to school this month, and with school comes piles of homework. That means I won't be able to write nearly as much, so there may be a few months in between each chapter. I'll try to update as much as possible, but I don't know how often that will be. Anyway, thanks for putting up with it. Also, remember to review!! **

Chapter 4

The other cats stopped beside him, opening their mouths so the air could reach their scent glands.

"Don't worry," Russetfur mewed. "The scent is stale. I'd guess that the fox hasn't been here for at least a week."

Brambleclaw let his fur lie flat. "You're right," he replied. "But we should follow the scent trail anyway. If there's a burrow around here somewhere we need to warn whichever Clan takes this territory."

Mistyfoot nodded. "That's a good idea. The queens need to know if there is a fox in the area."

With their noses to the ground, the four cats began to follow the scent trail. It continued up the hill, winding around trees and boulders.

Brambleclaw padded softly across the ground, being careful to avoid the crunchy pine needles and leaves. If there was a fox around, he didn't want to alert it of their presence. They could be vicious, especially when defending their territory.

As the group traveled farther away from the lake, the fox's scent grew stronger and stronger, though it was still stale. The trees were also beginning to thin out, with more bushes and shrubs in between. The ground was dappled with patches of sunlight, and Brambleclaw could here the scuffling of prey under the nearest bush.

Perhaps ShadowClan could make a camp here after all, he thought to himself, which raised his hopes that StarClan had brought them to the right place.

They had now traveled far enough away from the lake so that Brambleclaw could no longer see its shining water. The fox's reek was so strong that it blocked out most other scents. The hollow where the fox had made its den was straight ahead, hidden between two large rocks. The four cats padded cautiously forward to sniff it, their ears pricked for any sign of danger. Brambleclaw unsheathed his claws protectively, even though the scent was still stale and he knew they most likely would not be meeting any of the red-tailed creatures.

"Looks like it has been abandoned," Russetfur decided, raising her head to look at the others. "I don't think we have to worry about it. Let's cover the hole up with some dirt to prevent another one from moving in, though."

They scratched enough dirt over the hole to cover it up, then turned around to go back toward the lake. Or, which way they thought was the lake.

"Which - which way did we come from?" asked Mistyfoot nervously.

"I'm not sure," mewed Brambleclaw. Everything around him seemed unfamiliar. He'd thought he knew which way they had traveled from, but now he wasn't certain. The tabby scanned the clearing, hoping for some familiar landmark that could help them judge where to go, but he found none.

"Great," Mudclaw hissed. "Now we're lost."

Brambleclaw kneaded the ground nervously with his paws. Being lost, of course, was not a good thing. If they continued in the wrong direction, they could end up even farther away from the lake. If that happened, not only would they have to spend the night there, but they might also need several more days to find their way back to the lake. And because they were in an unfamiliar territory, they had no idea of what dangers may be hidden in the deep forest.

Brambleclaw voiced his opinions. "We can't just keep going in a random direction," he meowed. "If we go the wrong way, we could end up even farther away from the lake."

"But what choice do we have?" argued Mudclaw. "We don't know what direction the lake is in."

Russetfur, however, was looking thoughtful. "What if I climbed to the top of that tree?" she nodded to a tall pine next to them. "Maybe then I could see the lake."

Mudclaw glanced up at the tree. "Would you be able to get back down?"

Russetfur nodded. "I don't think I would have any trouble. We used to climb the pine trees back in ShadowClan's old territory."

Mistyfoot shrugged. "Go ahead, if you'd like to."

Russetfur bunched her muscles, readying herself to spring, and then leaped gracefully onto the lowest branch of the tree. From there she clawed her way up the trunk until she was high enough to see through the other trees.

"I don't see it," she meowed, peering out in the distance. "Oh wait, I do! It's over there!" She flicked her tail in the direction she was looking.

Brambleclaw let out a sigh of relief. At least they weren't lost anymore. The relief in Mistyfoot's face was apparent too. "Let's go that way, then."

As soon as Russetfur had bounded down from the tree, they set off in what Brambleclaw hoped was the right direction.

And luckily, within a few minutes, they could see the lake again. The ground was now sloping downward instead of up, and the sun was straight above their heads. The spaces between the trees were large enough to house lots of weeds and bramble thickets. Rocks dotted the ground, and deciduous trees grew here and there.

These sights gave Brambleclaw even more hope that ShadowClan could settle in this area.

As if on queue, his thoughts suddenly seemed to prove true. A large dip in the ground opened up in front of them. It was surrounded by more brambles and trees, though the inside was mostly free of them. It held rocks and bushes that could be used as walls for dens. The scent of prey was strong, and Brambleclaw could even see a small hollow nearby that was filled with water.

Mistyfoot, Mudclaw and Russetfur had all stopped beside him to look at the hollow, and Russetfur's eyes were wide with excitement.

"This would make a great camp for ShadowClan!" the she-cat mewed happily, bounding down to explore the hollow. "There's even some water over there, which means we wouldn't have to go down to the lake to get some!"

Brambleclaw felt pleased. Two Clans down, two to go, he thought to himself. If RiverClan and ShadowClan can find camps, then hopefully ThunderClan and WindClan can too.

The cats took a moment to drink out of the hollow, and then quickly continued. Even though Brambleclaw knew Russetfur would have liked to explore the area more thoroughly, they all agreed that they needed to move fairly quickly. They couldn't spend too much time exploring if they wanted to make it back to camp by sundown. There would be more time to investigate the different areas once they had divided territories.

After a few fox-lengths they came to a break in the trees where a dirt path cut through the landscape. It was similar to the one that led away from the black-colored area that they had passed earlier, and it also smelled of Twolegs. Like the one before, the scent was stale and there were no Twolegs or monsters in sight. There was also another half-bridge hanging out over the water nearby. For the life of him, Brambleclaw couldn't figure out what its purpose was, except maybe making it easier to snatch fish out of the water.

They had not gone very far before they came to yet another dirt path. This one was more narrow and not as beaten down. However, there were strange criss-crossed tracks imprinted in the ground, as though a large snake with a jagged belly had traveled down it.

The fact that there were so many Twoleg paths and nests in the area bothered Brambleclaw. It was too easy to remember the Twoleg-run monsters crushing trees and bushes in their old home as if they were twigs. He knew that they could easily come and destroy this place as well.

However, he was comforted with the fact that everything was quiet. Even though there were lots of Twoleg-built things around, there was no sign of actual Twolegs, monsters, dogs, or even kittypets. The amber cat hoped it would stay that way, even though he doubted it was likely. Twolegs were always up to something.

A little ways on there was another break in the trees, only this one had been made naturally. It was a large stream that curved its way through the woods. It bubbled and splashed over the rocks and pebbles, like an energetic kit that was in a hurry to get where it was going. Small silver fish darted back and forth, their scales flashing like rainbows as the sun hit them.

All four cats stopped to lap at the clear, cool water, and then raised their heads to survey the landscape.

"Looks like we're heading into more of a woodland now," observed Russetfur. Brambleclaw's pelt tingled with excitement. Out of all the different areas they'd seen on their way around the lake, this was the one that would most likely house a suitable camp for ThunderClan. It had large, leafy trees, like the ones in ThunderClan's old territory, and lots of undergrowth. Hopefully, these woods would have a place that ThunderClan could call home.

"Your Clan would like this area, wouldn't they?" mewed Mistyfoot to the tabby. "It looks a lot like your old territory."

Brambleclaw nodded. "And if we do take this territory, maybe this stream could be the border with ShadowClan. That way both Clans would have access to water without having to go down to the lake."

Russetfur agreed. "That might work. But the leaders will be the ones to decide where to put the boundaries."

They then began to pick their way through the stream. Brambleclaw choose his footing carefully, trying not to slip on the loose stones at the bottom. Russetfur did the same, looking displeased that they had to get their fur wet. Mistyfoot was the only one who didn't mind the water, since she was a RiverClan cat.

As soon as they had crossed the stream, Brambleclaw began to hear many sounds that reminded him of home – squirrels and mice scurrying about in the undergrowth, a sparrow singing on leafy branch of a tree, and leaves fluttering in the wind.

He opened his mouth, letting the scent of prey waft over his scent glands. His stomach grumbled loudly, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since that morning.

"How about we stop and hunt?" he asked the others. "I'm getting pretty hungry."

"Sure," mewed Russetfur. "I am too."

Within a few minutes, Brambleclaw had caught a large mouse. He thanked StarClan that the mice here were so plump and easy to catch, unlike the scrawny ones back in the forest. Then he joined the others under a tree and settled down to eat his catch. The mood was slightly tense as they ate, and none of the cats said much to each other. The four Clans may have come together to travel over the mountains, but now that they were in their new home, old Clan rivalries were quickly being reestablished.

"We might as well rest for a minute," suggested Mistyfoot once they had all finished eating. "My paws are beginning to hurt."

Brambleclaw lazily stretched himself out in the sun and closed his eyes, letting the warmth of the sun seep into his fur. It felt good to take a moment to rest and let all his worries and responsibilities float away.

He did not get to enjoy it for very long, though. All too soon he was rising to his paws and following the others through the forest again.

The next few foxlengths were empty of Twoleg paths and streams, and they kept going at a quick pace. The dirt beneath their paws was becoming more rocky than soft, with small, jagged rocks scattered across the ground. Brambleclaw tried to avoid stepping on them, but he did not prevail.

"Mouse dung!" he snapped as a piercing pain shot through his front paw. He lifted his leg to reveal the large, sharp rock that he had stepped on. Annoyed, he gave his paw a few swift licks, and then batted the stone off into the bushes. Instead of landing with a soft thump, however, the rock clicked and thumped loudly as if it was falling down a cliff.

Brambleclaw raised his head, surprised. "What was that?" he mewed. "It sounded like that rock fell off the edge of something."

Mistyfoot, who was peering over the line of bushes, gasped. "Come look at this!" she mewed. Brambleclaw, Russetfur, and Mudclaw joined her by the plants. The ground sharply fell away just beyond the bushes, slanting down in what looked like some sort of Twoleg wall. Most of the rock that it was made out of was crumbling away, and vines were snaking their way up it. It bent into a large circle, forming a sort of stony hollow.

Parts of the wall jutted out into smooth, flat surfaces, making good places for cats to sit and sun themselves. The area inside the hollow was flat and grassy, and there were bushes here and there. It was almost like ShadowClan's new camp; only with large stonewalls surrounding it.

"How do you get in it?" questioned Mudclaw, who was skeptically observing the stone.

"There's an opening on the other side of the wall," Mistyfoot pointed out. "Looks like the rock has crumbled away completely over there."

Brambleclaw felt his fur tingle as he stared into the hollow. Would this make a good camp for ThunderClan? It did have a way to get in and out, as Mistyfoot had shown them. He tried to picture the hollow full of cats, with dens in the corners and a food pile in the center. It was imaginable, but he felt a bit intimidated by the stonewalls that surrounded it. It would be great protection from enemies, but if for some reason the Clan had to evacuate, the only escape would be the entrance on the other side of the wall. However, he doubted that his Clan would ever be in that situation, and if worse came to worse, they could probably climb up the stone to escape.

Other than that, the stony hollow looked like a great place for a camp. The walls had most likely been built by Twolegs, but for what purpose Brambleclaw didn't know. It did make him nervous to think that his Clan would have to live inside a Twoleg-built thing, but there was no scent of them in the hollow, and by the look of the vine-covered, eroding wall, they hadn't tampered with it for many seasons, and he didn't think they would in the future either.

"So, do you think this would make a good camp for ThunderClan?" Mistyfoot asked him.

"Sure!" replied Brambleclaw, his paws itching with excitement. "The walls would provide a lot of protection."

"That's what I was thinking too," she mewed. "And I know you'd like to have a look around, but we should probably keep going. We need to be back to camp by nightfall."

Brambleclaw agreed, as he knew that there would be plenty of time to explore it later. He was just glad that ThunderClan had been able to find a camp. It was a load off his mind to know that his Clan had found a place where they could live safely.

As the cats continued through the forest, the trees began to thin out and be replaced by shrubs and bits of moorland. A cool breeze fluttered the leaves of the trees and the long shadows on the ground told Brambleclaw that evening was beginning to fall. He hoped that these were signs that there were open hills on the other side of the trees, as that was the type of land that WindClan had lived in previously.

Soon the trees came to an end completely. A vast moorland picked up where they left off, proving Brambleclaw's theory correct. The moorland was filled with large grassy hills, along with bushes and a few trees here and there. A small stream cut through the two largest hills.

Mudclaw, whose mood had turned even sourer after they had found ThunderClan a camp, immediately perked up.

"I bet WindClan will take this area, won't you?" Mistyfoot asked him.

"Probably," he mewed, twitching his tail excitedly. "And if we do, maybe that stream over there can be the boundary between WindClan and ThunderClan."

Brambleclaw agreed. "Or we could use the edge of the trees."

As they continued across the grassy area, Brambleclaw noticed that Mudclaw was carefully scanning the open hills. The amber tom felt a pang of sympathy for him, since his Clan was the only one that hadn't found a camp yet. Although he did feel sorry for him, Brambleclaw was fairly sure that they would find a camp for WindClan. All of the other Clans had found suitable places, and they had already discovered the right kind of territory for Mudclaw's Clan. It couldn't be too long before they found a good place for them to live too.

They then came upon the stream that they had seen from the edge of the trees. They stopped to drink from it, and then crossed. Brambleclaw was surprised by the taste of the water, which had a sharp, yet slightly sweet flavor. He put it out of his mind, though, and followed the other cats across the stream.

Now that there were no trees to block his view, Brambleclaw could see clearly in every direction. Looking toward the other side of the moorland, he spotted the horseplace and the four Clans of cats next to it. He felt a rush of excitement at the thought of telling Squirrelpaw and the rest of ThunderClan about what they had seen that day. Unfortunately, by the time they would get back to the temporary camp, everyone would probably be asleep, so he'd have to wait until tomorrow to tell them about it.

Brambleclaw suddenly became aware of the fact that the three other cats were no longer behind him. Instead, they were standing farther away, staring at two small hills in front of them and talking excitedly.

He bounded over to them. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Do you think that the space between those two hills would make a good camp for WindClan?" Mistyfoot asked him, pointing toward the two small, grassy hills.

Brambleclaw examined the area. The hills created a sort of a hollow in between them, but it was too open and unprotected for Brambleclaw's liking. Furthermore, it didn't seem big enough to comfortably house a large number of cats.

"I don't know," he admitted. "It doesn't seem quite right."

Mudclaw agreed with him. "I guess it would do," he mewed, "but I was hoping we would find something more suitable. I'm afraid it would be too easy for badgers and other Clans to attack."

Mistyfoot nodded. "You're probably right. Well, let's keep looking, and perhaps we'll find something better."

They continued across the moorland, walking quickly now that the sun was beginning to set. The wind felt even colder against Brambleclaw's fur without the heat of the sun.

"Why don't we move more toward the hills, instead of walking so close to the lake?" Mudclaw suggested. "There might be more opportunities to find a camp over there."

"Sure," replied Russetfur. "That's a good thought."

They veered off toward the large hills beside them, which did turn out to be a good idea. The ground went up steeply for a while, and then suddenly it sloped down into a large hollow. The hollow, which was similar to ShadowClan's new camp, was positioned in the center of a large hill. The inside was lined with shrubs and rocks.

"Looks like WindClan has found a camp," mewed Mistyfoot, her eyes sparkling. Mudclaw nodded happily, relief evident in his eyes that WindClan had finally found a camp. "It's great!" he replied. "A lot better than that other place."

"Why don't you go down and look around?" suggested Brambleclaw. "We can spare a few minutes."

"Thanks!" meowed Mudclaw, bounding down into the hollow.

Brambleclaw sat down and began to wash himself as he waited for Mudclaw to return. His paws were beginning to ache with exhaustion, and he wished that he could curl up in the grass and go to sleep. It had been a long day, though a good one. He was confident that the stony hollow would make a good camp for ThunderClan, and hopefully the other Clans would be content in their new homes. With this thought he felt a huge weight being lifted off his shoulders; he could finally stop worrying about whether or not he and his four friends had led the Clans to the right place. He felt that the discovery of the new Clan camps was a sign from StarClan that they were where they were meant to be.

oooooooo

They did not have to wait long for Mudclaw to get back. He returned a few minutes later, looking pleased.

"I think it will work perfectly!" he mewed as soon as they were moving again. "It's big enough to hold the whole Clan, and there's even a big boulder in the center that I – I mean Tallstar – can sit on to hold Clan meetings."

Brambleclaw nodded, pretending not to notice his mistake. Even so, the feeling that Mudclaw was much too hungry for power returned to him, casting a shadow over his happiness. This made him think of his father, Tigerstar, whose greed for power had ended his life. But surely, he thought to himself, Mudclaw would never become as evil as Tigerstar, would he?

Russetfur's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Looks like we're almost back to the horseplace!"

He was right. They had come upon the Twoleg path that marked the edge of the horseplace. The four cats were about to cross the path when a hiss rang out from under the bushes.

"Stop right there!"

Brambleclaw froze, the hair on the back of his neck rising. He watched as a large, muscular, gray and white tom appeared out of the bushes. Brambleclaw unsheathed his claws, preparing for a fight.

"Wait," whispered Russetfur, flicking her tail over Brambleclaw's shoulder. "We don't want to seem like a threat."

"This is our territory. You don't belong here," the tom growled.

"We don't want a fight," replied Russetfur calmly. "We're just passing through."

"It that so? Then I better not catch you around our barn again."

Mudclaw hissed, his eyes blazing. "We have as much as a right to be here as you do!"

"What's going on here?" a new voice interrupted the arguing cats. Brambleclaw turned to see a cream-colored she-cat emerge behind the tom.

"These cats are intruding on our territory," snarled the tom.

The she-cat rolled her eyes. "Oh Smoky," she mewed. "There's plenty of room for all of us. They don't look dangerous." She turned to the four Clan cats, ignoring Smoky's mews of protest. "I'm Daisy, and this is Smoky. Don't take him too seriously. He likes to pretend he's tougher than he really is. Do you live around here? I haven't seen you before."

Brambleclaw shook his head; amused that Daisy had so easily overpowered the big tom. "We came from the other side of the mountains," he explained. "We had to leave our old home."

"Are you part of that big group of cats that have been living in the field over there?"

Brambleclaw nodded.

"Wow! Did all of you live with housefolk?"

"No," Brambleclaw replied. "We don't live with Twolegs. We live on our own, in separate Clans."

"Smoky and I don't either," Daisy meowed. "We live in the barn with our friend Floss. Some housefolk do live in a nest across from the barn, though, and sometimes their kits come and play with us."

The she-cat examined the four newcomers. "You look awfully tired. If you'd like, you're welcome to spend the night in our barn. "The hay's pretty soft."

"Thanks, but I don't think we will. We should be getting back to camp," mewed Mistyfoot.

Daisy dipped her head. "That's fine. We'll see you around then, I guess. And don't worry about Smoky. I'll keep an eye on him." She nodded toward the four cats, and then disappeared into the bushes. Smoky followed suit, nodding curtly at them before he too vanished into the bushes.

They traveled the rest of the way back to camp without hassle. The sun had disappeared below the horizon by the time they padded past Cloudtail and Brightheart, who were guarding the temporary camp. Brambleclaw's paws ached even more now, and his tail drooped with tiredness. He couldn't wait to curl up next to Squirrelpaw and go to sleep.

As soon as they reached the small clump of trees that most of the cats were sleeping under, Brambleclaw bid goodbye to his traveling companions and went to find Firestar. He wanted to tell him that ThunderClan had found a camp before he went to sleep. He found him next to Sandstorm under a large tree. As soon as Firestar spotted him, he rose to his paws and padded over to the amber tabby.

"How did it go? Did you find camps for all of the Clans?" he asked anxiously.

Brambleclaw nodded. "We found a great place for every Clan."

The relief in Firestar's face was clear. "I'm glad to hear it," he mewed. "I'd like to hear more, but you look much too tired to do anything but sleep. Get some food from the fresh-kill pile if you're hungry, and go and get some rest. You can tell everyone about what you found in the morning."

Brambleclaw dipped his head toward the leader of ThunderClan, glad that he didn't have to take the time to describe all the events of the day. Then he walked over to where Squirrelpaw was sleeping next to Leafpaw. He curled up next to the orange she-cat, glad that the day was finally over.


	5. Chapter 5: Dividing Territories

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

A/N: Hmm… I don't really have anything to say about this chapter… Just go ahead and read it and remember to review!!

Chapter 5

"All right, Spiderpaw, you're done," Leafpaw mewed to the black and white cat as soon as she had patted the last of the marigold onto the large cut on his shoulder. "But don't be too rough on it, or you'll open it up again."

Spiderpaw nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Leafpaw."

"Hey Leafpaw!" Cinderpelt, who was ThunderClan's medicine cat and also Leafpaw's mentor, called to her once she was done treating Spiderpaw. "Would you go find some cobwebs for me? We're running out of them."

"Sure, Cinderpelt," the small white tabby replied. "I'll go to the place where I found them the other day."

Suddenly Blackstar's voice rang out. "Cats of all Clans!" he called from a large rock that was positioned toward the edge of the clearing. "Gather around!" The four cats who traveled around the lake yesterday are going to tell us about what they saw."

Cinderpelt let out a mrrow of laughter. "That was pretty good timing," she mewed. "Don't worry, Leafpaw, you don't have to looking for those cobwebs until this is over."

"Thanks, Cinderpelt," Leafpaw meowed before bounding over to sit beside Squirrelpaw at the base of the rock that Blackstar was sharing with the three other leaders. She had learned from Brambleclaw that all four Clans had found suitable homes, but she was eager to learn more about what they had seen on their journey. She was also hoping that they had found a replacement for the moonstone. If they had found one, she would no longer have to worry about how they would contact StarClan.

Once every cat was settled, Blackstar began to speak. "Cats of all Clans!" he yowled. "As you all know, these four cats (he flicked his tail to the spot where Brambleclaw, Mistyfoot, Mudclaw and Russetfur were sitting) went on a journey yesterday to find camps for all of the Clans. And luckily, they succeeded."

Mrrows of relief and happiness spread through the group of cats. Leafpaw knew that every cat had been worried that this area would not be suitable to live in, but finding camps for each of the Clans was a good sign that it was.

"Russetfur, why don't you come up here and tell us about what you found?"

The deputy of ShadowClan nodded, then leapt up onto the boulder to sit beside the four leaders. "The first camp we found was RiverClan's," the she-cat began. "It's towards the left side of the lake. It's a small grassy area between two streams, with reeds and brambles for protection. ShadowClan's camp is on the other side of the lake, in a pine forest. The camp is a large hollow in the ground, with boulders and bushes around it. There's even a little hollow by it that is filled with water, which means that you won't have to go down to the lake to get water. ThunderClan's camp looks a lot like ShadowClan's, because it's also a hollow. Its surrounded by a large, round stone wall that looks like it was built by Twolegs, but we didn't find any signs that the Twolegs are still around, so you shouldn't have to worry about that. WindClan's camp is in the large moorland on the other side of the horseplace. Their camp is a hollow in the middle of a hill. There is plenty of grass and rabbits, and it looks very similar to WindClan's old territory. So that's what all the camps look like," finished Russetfur. "We also found some Twoleg paths and streams that could be used as boundaries, but we didn't find anything that looked like a good Moonstone or Gathering place."

Disappointment flooded through Leafpaw. She had known before that they had probably not found a new Moonstone, since Brambleclaw hadn't said anything about it to her, but she had still been hoping that they had discovered one. The longer they went without one, the more time would be spent without any way to communicate with StarClan. Without a Moonstone, new leaders would not be able to receive their nine lives and medicine cats would have a harder time of receiving prophecies.

"Oh StarClan, where are you?" Leafpaw mewed silently up to the sky, though she knew she would not get an answer.

"Thank you, Russetfur," Blackstar's voice suddenly broke back into Leafpaw's thoughts. "Now that we have a clearer picture of what each camp looks like," he mewed turning back around to face the Clans, "the other leaders and I have decided that we will be moving into them this afternoon. And because we have not yet finalized where the boundaries between the territories will be, no cat should be attacking another because they are supposedly beyond their boundary. However, this does not mean that any of you have the right to go wherever you want. ShadowClan will keep to the pine forest, ThunderClan the woodland, WindClan the moorland, and RiverClan the area between the Twoleg place and the horse place. Boundaries will most likely be decided at the next Gathering, which by the look of the moon last night, will be in about a quarter-moon."

"Where should the next Gathering be?" questioned Firestar. "We don't have a permanent one yet."

The other leaders thought for a minute. Finally, Leopardstar mewed, "I guess we can just meet back here. There aren't many other places that would work."

Firestar nodded. "That's a good idea. Then as soon as we find a better one we can start meeting there."

Loud meows and conversations broke out among the cats as soon as the four leaders leapt down from the boulder. Leafpaw immediately scanned the crowd for the gray fur of Cinderpelt. She wanted to know what she thought of the new camps, but more importantly, she wanted to share her fear of not finding a new Moonstone with her. She knew that, of all the cats, she was the one that would best understand that fear, since she was also a medicine cat.

Leafpaw soon spotted her mentor sitting next to Littlecloud, the ShadowClan cat. She padded over to them, greeting them each with a meow of hello.

"Hey Leafpaw," mewed Littlecloud. Even though ShadowClan cats were generally the most hostile, this didn't apply the orange and white cat. Littlecloud was always friendly to both Cinderpelt and Leafpaw, and had never forgotten that Cinderpelt had saved him from a dreadful disease that had swept through ShadowClan before Leafpaw was born.

"I'm glad that every Clan found a home, but I'm worried that we won't be able to find another Moonstone," he said once Leafpaw had sat down next to them. "Without one, there will be no way to contact StarClan."

Leafpaw nodded, glad that he shared the same fears as her. "Me too," she replied. "I'm especially worried that Tallstar will die soon. If we can't find a new one by then, Mudclaw won't be able to receive his nine lives."

At that moment, they were interrupted by Mothwing, the RiverClan medicine cat. "Hello," she mewed, sitting down next to Leafpaw. "I thought I'd come and say goodbye, since we're all separating this afternoon." A hint of sadness entered her voice, and Leafpaw realized how hard it would be for the Clans to end their newfound friendships with each other and go back to living in separate Clans. Many of the cats, including Leafpaw, had formed close friendships with cats from other Clans, but now they had to go back to the old Clan rivalries. Many of these boundaries had already been put up as soon as the cats had reached their new home, but many more would be placed today. The Clans would no longer be the single group that had traveled over the mountains together, but the four separate groups that had existed back in the forest.

Leafpaw flicked her tail across her friend's ear to comfort her. "Don't worry," she mewed. "We'll still see each other at Gatherings, and every half-moon at the new moonstone."

"If we find one," muttered Mothwing, bringing up the same fear that the other medicine cats had.

"I'm sure we will," mewed Cinderpelt. "It just may take a while for StarClan to get settled in this new place too. They'll show us where to find them when they're ready."

Leafpaw nodded, desperately hoping she was right. She then bade goodbye to her friends, wishing both Littlecloud and Mothwing luck in their new homes. Spotting Squirrelpaw across the clearing, she padded over to join her sister.

oooooooo

"Hey, Leafpaw, would you do me a favor?" called Brightheart that afternoon. "As soon as you're done eating that vole, would you go find Whitepaw and Spiderpaw for me? We're trying to round up everyone so that we can leave for our new camp soon."

"Sure, Brightheart," Leafpaw meowed; swallowing the last of the prey she had been eating.

She found the two apprentices saying goodbye to a group of RiverClan apprentices.

"Come on, Whitepaw, Spiderpaw," the brown tabby mewed. "It's almost time to leave."

Whitepaw nodded to let her know that they had heard. "Bye, Stonepaw," she mewed sadly. "See you at the next Gathering."

The stone colored cat pressed his muzzle against hers. "See you later," he mewed to both of them before padding away to join the rest of RiverClan.

The two ThunderClan apprentices turned away to follow Leafpaw back across the clearing, each looking sad that they had to leave their friends. Leafpaw felt a pang of sympathy for them. There were only a few apprentices and one kit left in ThunderClan, and now that they were separating from the other Clans, there wouldn't be many other cats their age to play with.

"I found them," she called to Brightheart as soon as they reached the clump of trees that ThunderClan was sheltering under.

"Good," replied Brightheart. "I think we've found everyone, then. I'll go tell Firestar that we're ready to leave."

"Okay everyone," Firestar yowled a minute later. "Say your last goodbyes, and then we'll be ready to leave. Brambleclaw, you'll be leading us, since you know where to go."

The amber tabby, who was saying goodbye to Tawnypelt, nodded. "Okay, Firestar."

A moment later they were on their way to their new camp. Leafpaw felt a tingle of excitement spread through her fur as she fell into step beside Squirrelpaw. Soon they would be in their new home! She hoped that it would be as nice as their old camp back in the forest.

They soon crossed the Twoleg path next to the horseplace and headed into WindClan's territory. Firestar and Tallstar had agreed that ThunderClan could cross through WindClan's territory on their way to and from Gatherings as long as they stayed close to the lake and didn't take any prey. ShadowClan would also have to travel through RiverClan to reach the agreed-on Gathering spot. Leafpaw wished that this new spot could be more conveniently reached, but perhaps they would find a better place later. The island that Sorreltail had found might work, if only they could reach it without having to swim.

The WindClan warriors, who had been traveling behind them, bade them goodbye as soon as they reached their camp. Leafpaw watched as Barkface, the WindClan medicine cat, slowly helped Tallstar up the hill that led to the hollow where WindClan would make their camp. He was looking more frail and elderly than ever, and it couldn't be long before the wise old cat went to join StarClan.

Soon they came to the large stream that Russetfur had described. It wasn't deep, just enough to wet Leafpaw's belly fur, but Mousefur, the oldest in ThunderClan, still made a fuss about crossing it.

"I just washed my fur!" she complained loudly as they neared the stream. "Wading through that filthy water will only make me cold and wet, and I'll have to clean myself again."

Leafpaw couldn't help but roll her eyes. Mousefur was known for being stubborn and temperamental, and it didn't help that she was tired from the long journey over the mountains. Of course she would be the one to complain about something like crossing a stream.

It was Brambleclaw who stepped in to comfort her. "Don't worry, Mousefur," he mewed to the brown she-cat. "The water isn't that deep, and it really isn't that cold, either. As soon as we get to camp, you'll be the first one to receive a large warm bed of moss. How does that sound?"

His speech must have worked, because Mousefur allowed him to gently help her across the stream, though she still grumbled loudly as she waded through the water. Brambleclaw then came back to the nearest side of the stream and began helping the other elders across.

As Leafpaw watched him help each cat across the stream, she wondered if he had been doing so much to help the Clan lately simply because he was trying to be helpful, or if he had other motives. She knew that he had wanted to become deputy ever since Graystripe had been taken by the Twolegs.

He would make a good deputy, Leafpaw thought to herself. He's strong, loyal, and a good leader. She couldn't help thinking, though, that his father, Tigerstar, would shadow him terribly if he became deputy. Many cats saw Brambleclaw as a younger version of Tigerstar, and they were afraid that he was as hungry for power as his father was. He would have to prove his loyalty to both ThunderClan and the warrior code many times over of he were to earn the respect that he deserved.

They had now entered the large forest of leafy trees. The scents of both squirrels and birds reach Leafpaw's nose, and fallen leaves crunched underfoot. Most of the trees were a beautiful red-orange color; a sure sign that leaf-bare was coming.

She felt a pang of homesickness as she looked around the forest. It reminded her so much of their old home; the sounds of the birds in the trees, the scent of prey and decaying leaves… She hoped that this was a sign that this new home would be just as good as their old one.

"Okay everyone," Brambleclaw called from where he stood at the front of the group of cats. "As Russetfur said our camp is in a large stone hollow. There's an opening that we can use to get in and out, but the rest of the walls are not easy to see. We have to be careful that no cat falls over the edge of the wall. It's a long way down and they probably wouldn't survive."

"Should we even be living in it then?" Ferncloud questioned, nudging Birchkit protectively against her paws. "I don't want my kits to be living in something that isn't safe!"

Brambleclaw shook his head. "We'll be fine," he mewed. "The walls will provide great protection against enemies, and as soon as we're settled, we can put some sort of scent marking around them to warn us to be careful."

Ferncloud still looked wary, but did not say anymore. Instead she picked up Birchkit by the scruff of his neck and continued through the trees.

They soon reached a steep, rocky incline that was half-hidden behind to bushes. Brambleclaw led them down it, after pausing for a moment to taste the air. "We're here!" he announced. "This path leads to the camp."

Sure enough, the trail they were following opened up into the large clearing that the Clans would soon call home.

Leafpaw felt another rush of excitement. So this was their new home! She was a bit intimated by the stonewalls, but other than that, it looked like a perfect place for a camp. Some of the cats were warily sniffing at the ground, others, like Squirrelpaw, were already exploring the cracks and crevices that were hidden in the stonewall.

"Hey Leafpaw, look!" Whitepaw called from where she was standing at the other side of the clearing. "There's a hole in the wall over here that looks like it would make a good medicine cat den!"

Leafpaw padded over to join her, sticking her head inside the large hole. It was about five tail-lengths long and three wide. A curtain of moss hung across the front, hiding most of it from view. It would be big enough to store herbs in, plus Cinderpelt and Leafpaw could sleep in it on the coldest nights. The moss would protect the herbs from getting knocked over by mischievous kits.

"Looks great, Whitepaw!" Leafpaw mewed enthusiastically. "I bet it would work."

She called Cinderpelt over to look at it. "Don't you think this would make a good den for us?" she asked.

Cinderpelt explored it for a moment. "This will work perfectly!" she decided. "Thanks for finding it, Whitepaw."

"Speaking of herbs, Leafpaw," Cinderpelt mewed to her apprentice. "Will you go into the forest and find as many as you can for me? I'd like to build up a supply of them as soon as possible."

"Sure," Leafpaw mewed. "Should I take someone along to help me?"

Cinderpelt nodded. "That's a good idea."

Leafpaw bounded over to Sorreltail. "Hey, Sorreltail!" she called to the tortoiseshell cat. "Want to go with me to get some herbs?"

"Sure," the she-cat replied. "Just let me finish clearing away this brush so the elders can make a den."

Leafpaw nodded, then sat down to wait for her. She watched as her Clanmates worked to turn the hollow into a proper camp. Cloudtail and Brightheart were helping Sorreltail to clear out the brush that lay scattered around the hollow, and Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw, were winding brambles into the bushes that lined the entrance of the camp. Meanwhile, Whitepaw, Spiderpaw, Sootfur, and Rainwhisker all padded into the clearing with large bundles of moss in their jaws.

Leafpaw felt burst of pride as she watched her Clanmates work. They had been strong enough to survive the destruction of their old home, and they had come together to travel over the mountains. Now they had reached a new, much safer home, one that they could hopefully live in for many generations to come. They had overcome everything that had been set before them, and now Leafpaw felt that the future held lots of promise.


	6. Chapter 6: Warrior Ceremonies

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

A/N: Happy New Year's everybody! Can you believe it's already 2009? I'm sorry it has taken me so long to write this chapter, but here it is now! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story so far, and if you haven't, please do. :)

Chapter 6

Brambleclaw awoke the next day to the sun beating down heavily on his eyelids and Cloudtail snoring next to him. Hastily built thorn walls surrounded him; they were using a corner of the clearing as a temporary warrior's den, as they hadn't had time to build a proper one the day before. It took the tabby warrior a minute to figure out why Squirrelpaw wasn't curled up next to him, as she usually was, but then as his brain rid itself of sleep he remembered the reason. Now that ThunderClan was living in their new camp, the warriors slept in a different area than the apprentices. This meant that Brambleclaw was no longer sleeping next to Squirrelpaw, and he missed the warmth of her fur beside him. It would take him a while to get himself back into his old habits, the daily schedule of carrying out Clan duties rather than traveling with the other Clans as they had for the past moon.

He let the sleep leave his body, and then padded out toward the front of the clearing. There Firestar was having a discussion with Dustpelt and Mousefur.

"I think both Squirrelpaw and Spiderpaw are ready to become warriors," he heard Firestar say as he sat down next to them. "They have become both skilled and strong enough, and they have certainly earned it. Squirrelpaw went on the journey to the sun-drown place and helped lead the Clans over the mountains, while Spiderpaw has been very helpful in building this camp. I'd like to hold their warrior ceremonies today."

Both Dustpelt and Mousefur nodded. "That's a good idea," Dustpelt mewed. "Both of them should have earned their warrior names long ago, but with the problems in our old forest and the journey over the mountains, it got overlooked."

"Do you want me to tell Squirrelpaw and Spiderpaw?" Brambleclaw mewed. He couldn't wait to see Squirrelpaw's expression when she heard that she was finally going to become a warrior.

"Go ahead, Brambleclaw," Firestar replied. "Tell them that we'll hold the ceremony sometime this morning."

oooooooo

"Wake up, Squirrelpaw," Brambleclaw whispered a minute later, gently prodding the bright orange cat in the side. She mumbled something he couldn't understand, and then gradually opened her green eyes. " **'**sit morning already?" she yawned.

"Yes," he replied impatiently. "And you better hurry and get up. Firestar's going to hold your warrior ceremony this morning!"

This caught Squirrelpaw's attention. "What?" she yelped, leaping to her paws. "Today?"

"Yep!" the amber tabby replied, _mrrowing_ with laughter at her reaction. "You and Spiderpaw are becoming warriors today."

Squirrelpaw's eyes lit up. "Wow! Spiderpaw will be excited to hear that!"

"Hear what?" the long-limbed apprentice mewed sleepily from where he was laying at the other side of the den.

"That you're going to become a warrior!" Squirrelpaw bounded over to him, all traces of her earlier sleepiness gone. "Firestar's holding our ceremony today!"

Spiderpaw's reaction was nearly the same as Squirrelpaw's. "Today?" he gasped. "We're getting our warrior names today?"

"Yep!" Squirrelpaw mewed, her eyes still shining. "That's what Brambleclaw said."

"What's happening today?" Leafpaw mewed, padding over to join her sister.

"Spiderpaw and I are becoming warriors!" Squirrelpaw exclaimed, happy to relate the news again.

Leafpaw's eyes widened. "That's great! Cinderpelt thought Firestar would hold your ceremonies soon."

For the first time that morning, Squirrelpaw looked a bit sad. "I wish you could become a warrior today too," she sighed, flicking her tail across her sister's ear. "It would be great to earn our names together."

Leafpaw rubbed her muzzle affectionately against her sister's. "I wish so too," she replied. "But medicine cats have a different training schedule than regular apprentices. I haven't completed my training yet."

Squirrelpaw nodded. "I know. And I'm sure you'll earn your name soon enough." She then shot her sister a sidelong glance. "Cinderpelt didn't happen to tell you what my warrior name is going to be, did she?"

Leafpaw _mrrowed_ with laughter. "No. You're going to have to wait until the ceremony to find that out."

oooooooo

The next half of the morning kept Brambleclaw unusually busy. If he wasn't out hunting, he was collecting moss for bedding or helping to build a thorn wall across the camp entrance. It was nearly sun-high by the time Firestar called the Clan together from the top of a large rock that jutted out from the stonewall.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting," he called, pausing to let every cat settle themselves in front of him.

"Today we have some important business to attend to," he began. Brambleclaw chuckled as Squirrelpaw, who was sitting next to her mentor, Dustpelt, shivered with excitement. Her fur had been groomed to the point of glowing by Sandstorm, even though she had insisted that she was too old for kit-like things such as that.

"Today will be the first time these words have been spoken in our new home," Firestar went on. "The time has come to appoint two new warriors." He nodded to Squirrelpaw and Spiderpaw, who padded across the clearing to sit on front of the Highledge. Firestar leaped down to join them. He turned his gaze to the sky, where Brambleclaw hoped StarClan was watching.

"I, Firestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my ancestors to look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn." The flame-colored tom looked down at Squirrelpaw and Spiderpaw, his eyes sparkling. "Squirrelpaw," he said to his daughter, "do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

She lifted her gaze to meet his. "I do," she meowed proudly.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. From this moment on you will be known as Squirrelflight. StarClan honors your courage and spirit, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Firestar briefly rested his muzzle on Squirrelflight's head, who rasped her tongue over his shoulder. Then she stepped aside, and he turned to Spiderpaw.

"Spiderpaw," he repeated, "do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," the amber-eyed cat replied.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. From this moment on you will be called Spiderleg. StarClan honors your enthusiasm and strength, and we also welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

The orange tom placed his chin on Spiderleg's head, and the new warrior licked his shoulder respectfully.

As soon as the ceremony was over, the watching cats broke into a chorus of meows. Leafpaw, who had bounded over to her sister to congratulate her, began calling, "Squirrelflight! Spiderleg! Squirrelflight! Spiderleg!" Soon the others joined in, happily calling the new warriors' names and congratulating them both.

Brambleclaw padded over to Squirrelflight and pressed his muzzle against hers. "Well done," he purred. "How does it feel to be a warrior?"

"It feels great!" she replied. "I can't believe I'm not an apprentice anymore."

Brambleclaw nodded. "That's how I felt too. I don't envy you for having to sit out in the cold and keep vigil tonight, though."

Squirrelflight shrugged. "I don't mind. Spiderleg will be there to keep me company, and besides, it's my first job as a warrior!"

"I don't think you'll be much different, though, even though you are a warrior now," mewed Cloudtail, who had joined them. His eyes sparkled with laughter. "I'm sure you'll be the same rebellious, up-to-no-good cat."

Squirrelflight batted her friend over the ear. "I'm not that bad!" she retorted. "Besides, it's not like you never got into trouble. Didn't Firestar have to go and rescue you from a Twoleg nest once?"

Cloudtail didn't seem to mind the mention of this past event. "As a matter of fact, he did," he chuckled. "That wasn't exactly my fault, though. I didn't choose to be locked in there with that mangy dog of theirs."

Suddenly Firestar interrupted their conversation. "Could you three join the hunting patrol?" he asked. "The fresh-kill pile is getting low."

"Sure, Firestar," Brambleclaw mewed. "Who are we going with?"

"Brightheart and Sorreltail. They're waiting by the camp entrance."

Brambleclaw nodded, then bounded over to where the two she-cats were standing. Cloudtail and Squirrelflight followed him, and the group headed off into the forest.

Brambleclaw's pelt brushed against Squirrelflight's as the two cats raced side by side. Her happiness was infectious; it made Brambleclaw feel light and carefree.

He knew that Firestar had had more than one reason for holding the warrior ceremony that morning. Not only had he given Squirrelflight and Spiderleg their warrior names, but also by carrying out a ritual that was as old as the Clans themselves, he had given his Clan faith that StarClan was still watching over them, and that this new home was where they truly belonged.

At that moment, with Squirrelflight by his side and the wind ruffling his fur, Brambleclaw believed him. He hoped with all his heart that this place could be their permanent home, and that StarClan would continue to guide their pawsteps.


	7. Chapter 7: A New WindClan Leader

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

A/N: Hey guys! I have a question for you before you read this chapter: I haven't been able to make my A/N bold in the past couple of chapters, and I'm not sure why. It's bolded when I type it in Microsoft Word, but then when I put it on Fanfiction it's not anymore. If anyone knows how to fix this, could you review my story and tell me how? Thanks! Anyway, here's the next chapter! Review please….

Chapter 7

Leafpaw was dreaming. She stood in a large, treeless clearing. Even with the absence of trees, she could hear leaves fluttering in the breeze, and she could also hear the soft murmuring of voices, though they were too low for her to make out what they were saying. A sweet scent drifted past her, but she could not see the cat that it belonged to."Spottedleaf?" she called. "Are you there? Why can't I see you?"

She received no answer. Instead, both Spottedleaf's scent and the voices began to fade.

"Don't go!" Leafpaw called out in horror. "StarClan, don't leave me!"

She gasped as the ground began to churn beneath her paws. The brown soil that she had been standing on disappeared, to be replaced by a red, sticky substance that oozed up around her paws. The horrible scent of blood filled her nostrils. Wailing, Leafpaw desperately tried to escape the ocean of blood that suddenly bubbled around her. To her dismay, she found that she couldn't move. Her feet were seemingly stuck to the ground, and all she could do was tremble as the red liquid churned and swirled around her. As she closed her eyes, waiting for the terrible nightmare to end, a deep voice echoed through her ears.

"Before there is peace, blood will spill blood, and the lake will run red."

oooooooo

Leafpaw awoke with a start, gasping and trembling. Cinderpelt stood over her, looking worried.

"What happened?" she asked at once. "Did you have a dream?"

Leafpaw nodded, trying to calm her breathing. "Something's going to happen," she mewed, the dark prophecy echoing in her head as she spoke.

"I was standing in a clearing, and I could hear StarClan, but they were too far away for me to see…" she shuddered. "Then their voices went away, and the ground turned to an ocean of blood. A voice said, 'Before there is peace, blood will spill blood, and the lake will run red.' Oh, Cinderpelt, what do you think it means?" she blurted out unhappily.

"I don't know," her mentor replied. "Only time will tell. Did you see or hear anything else?"

Leafpaw shook her head. "But why did StarClan give the prophecy to me instead of you?"

"I'm not sure. StarClan has a way of deciding which cat is right for each prophecy. Maybe they thought you would be the best one to interpret it."

Leafpaw nodded, still thinking over her dream. What did it mean? Whose blood would be spilled, and who would spill it? That wasn't the only part of the dream that scared Leafpaw. The fact that she wasn't able to see StarClan bothered her even more. Was it hinting that they needed to find a new Moonstone? Or did it mean something even worse – that StarClan hadn't followed them over the mountains? The thought made Leafpaw's stomach churn.

Suddenly Cinderpelt's voice pulled her away from her thoughts.

"Leafpaw? Would you go out into the forest and collect some marigold for me? It'll take your mind off that dream."

Leafpaw nodded, padding out of the medicine cat den just as Cloudtail came hobbling in with a thorn stuck in his paw. She chuckled as she heard the normally tough warrior complain loudly to Cinderpelt. It always amused her how warriors like him could be so strong and capable in battles and yet so easily defeated by simple things like thorns and scratches.

After winding through the many trees and bushes that surrounded ThunderClan's camp, Leafpaw found a large supply of orange-colored marigold growing near WindClan's border. Pleased, she began to gnaw off as many stalks as she could carry back to camp.

A loud rustling suddenly startled her. The amber cat froze, listening as the noise grew louder. At that moment, pawsteps thudded across the ground, and Crowfeather burst out from behind a bush.

"Leafpaw!" he mewed in surprise, spotting her. His eyes were wide with alarm, he voice coming in gasps.

Leafpaw's pelt immediately bristled with unease. "W-what are you doing her?" she stammered.

Crowfeather ignored her question. "You've got to help! Tallstar's dying, and he's asking for Firestar!"

Leafpaw stared at him, the words taking a minute to register in her mind. His blue eyes stared into her amber ones as he waited for her response, and she found she could not look away.

"Well, come on!" she finally mewed. "I'll take you to Firestar, and you can explain what's happened." She turned around and sped off into the forest, grabbing a clump of marigold in her jaws as she went. Crowfeather followed, falling into step beside her. He moved surprising quickly through the trees and undergrowth, considering that he was used to the open plains of WindClan's territory.

Leafpaw led him into the stone hollow just as a border patrol was leaving. The five cats instantly froze and hissed at the intruder, but Leafpaw nodded toward them to signal that he was accompanying her.

Firestar was lying in the center of the clearing, sharing tongues with Sandstorm. He sat up as soon as he saw Crowfeather and the wide-eye expressions they both wore.

"What's wrong?" he mewed, his gaze flickering between the two of them.

"Tallstar's dying." Crowfeather's words came out in a rush. "He wants to speak to you."

Worry flashed through Firestar's eyes "I'll come at once," he mewed. "Sandstorm, Dustpelt, you're in charge of guarding the camp while I'm gone. Leafpaw, why don't you come with me? There might be a need for a medicine cat."

Leafpaw nodded, quickly passing her mouthful of marigold to Cinderpelt before following Firestar and Crowfeather back into the forest.

None of them spoke as they raced towards WindClan's territory. Leafpaw knew they were all consumed with their worry for Tallstar, and curiosity as to what he wanted to tell Firestar. It seemed strange that the old cat would use his last words on someone who did not belong to his own Clan. Did he know something about the fate of ThunderClan that he felt Firestar needed to hear?

Leafpaw hadn't realized she was running next to Crowfeather until her pelt brushed against his. Crowfeather leaped sideways at her touch as though an electric current had sliced through him. Leafpaw gasped as the same thing happened to her. She shook her head, trying to make the feeling go away. What was wrong with her? Why did she feel so strange whenever she was around the WindClan warrior? Crowfeather obviously felt the same way. He eyed her with a look she didn't understand and then sped up so that he was no longer running beside her. Firestar, who had been running behind them, quickened his pace to join his daughter. He looked her in the eyes as if he was trying to convey something that could not be spoken. Leafpaw, already feeling too confused to try to decipher what he was saying, looked away.

They reached WindClan's camp as the sun reached its highest point in the sky. Barkface, WindClan's medicine cat, was pacing anxiously outside his den.

"You're here!" he mewed as soon as he spotted them. "Thank you so much for coming. Tallstar insists on talking to you."

"Is there anything we can do for him?" Firestar responded. "I brought Leafpaw, our medicine cat apprentice, with me."

Barkface shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid not. I believe he's already on his way to StarClan."

Firestar nodded unhappily. Then a hoarse whisper came from Barkface's den.

"Firestar?" Tallstar mewed. Firestar motioned for Leafpaw to join him in the darkness of the den. "I'm here," he said softly.

Leafpaw felt a lump rise in her throat as she looked at the old cat. His breath came in gasps, and his eyes already held the glitter of StarClan. Even though he had not been part of her own Clan, Leafpaw knew she would miss him very much.

"Firestar," the leader of WindClan whispered again. "WindClan will forever be in your debt. You have saved us many times, and I am thankful to call you my friend."

Firestar bowed his head. "Any cat would have done the same, Tallstar," he replied. "And I am the one that should be thankful to you. You have taught me many things about being a wise leader."

Leafpaw felt a bit confused. Had Tallstar simply called Firestar here to say goodbye to him? She knew that the two cats had been good friends, but they did belong to separate Clans, after all.

But then the elderly cat spoke again. "I have something I need to tell you," Tallstar mewed with more strength in his voice. "I wanted a witness from another Clan, so that what I am about to say is more believable." He nodded toward the entrance of the den. "Come in, Onewhisker."

Leafpaw spun around in surprise. She hadn't noticed that the WindClan warrior was standing by the den entrance looking hesitant about coming in. Now that he had permission he padded over to sit beside Tallstar. Grief filled his eyes as he looked at his dying leader. "What would you like to say?" he asked gently.

Tallstar took a deep breath. "Mudclaw," he began, "is not the right leader for WindClan. And he shall not be the cat to lead it after I am gone."

Leafpaw was not the only one that gasped.

"Onewhisker," Tallstar mewed again, "will be the new leader of WindClan."

Onewhisker's eyes filled with shock. "What?" he gasped. But Tallstar! I – I can't be WindClan's leader! Only the deputy can become leader!"

"That is why you will now become my deputy." Tallstar's sides heaved with the effort of speaking. "I say these words before the spirits of StarClan, so that they will hear and approve my choice," he meowed, despite Onewhisker's protests. "Onewhisker will be the new deputy of WindClan, and then leader when I am gone." He turned to Onewhisker. "Take care of our Clan," Tallstar whispered. "I know that you will be the best leader it has seen in a long time."

"Tallstar, no!" Onewhisker cried, but it was too late. Tallstar had taken his last breath.

Leafpaw closed her eyes, grief threatening to overwhelm her. She would never see Tallstar again. He would be in StarClan now, and there would soon be a new leader of WindClan. She wondered who would become that leader. Tallstar had declared Onewhisker as his deputy, but the only witnesses he had were Onewhisker himself and two ThunderClan cats. Would the cats of WindClan really believe them when they said Onewhisker was their leader instead of Mudclaw? Mudclaw certainly wouldn't be happy to hear that the position of leader had been snatched out from underneath his paws.

"What do I do?" Onewhisker asked Firestar, sadness and panic filling his voice. His fears echoed Leafpaw's thoughts. "He didn't make me his deputy in front of the whole Clan. They might not believe that he ever even did." The warrior hung his head. "Besides, I'm not fit to be leader. I should just let Mudclaw be leader."

"You can't do that!" Leafpaw was surprised by the anger in Firestar's voice. "Tallstar appointed you as his deputy under the guidance of StarClan. Letting Mudclaw become leader now would be breaking the warrior code." The ThunderClan leader gently rested the tip of his tail on Onewhisker's shoulder. "I know this whole thing seems daunting right now, but you've got to be strong, for both your sake and your Clan's."

"But how are you going to get your nine lives and your name?" Leafpaw interrupted. It was a question she felt she needed to ask. Without a Moonstone, Onewhisker would not be able to receive his nine lives and StarClan's approval, something that every new leader needed.

"I don't know." It was Firestar who answered. Unease crept into his expression. "Onewhisker will just have to wait to get those until we find a new Moonstone." Leafpaw knew that Firestar worked to keep his voice positive for both Onewhisker's sake and her own, but she still saw doubt in his green eyes. He was as worried as he was that this problem would not be easily solved.

"We'll need to alert the others of Tallstar's death," Onewhisker mewed quietly. "They'll want to keep vigil for him."

Firestar nodded. "Why don't you have Barkface help you carry his body out to the clearing?" he suggested. "It would seem disrespectful if Leafpaw and I did it, since we're not his Clanmates."

Nodding, Onewhisker padded out of the medicine cat den to where Barkface was sitting, a somber look on his face. He bent down to tell the medicine cat what had happened. Leafpaw watched as Barkface's eyes widened in response. Then he nodded and followed Onewhisker over to where she and Firestar were sitting. "You agree to what Onewhisker told me?" he asked. "Tallstar really did make him his deputy?"

They both nodded. Barkface's eyes widened again, and then he and Onewhisker disappeared into his den. They reappeared a minute later with Tallstar's body held between them. Firestar and Leafpaw followed the two cats into the center of WindClan's camp. Surprised murmurs spread through the camp like wildfire as the other cats realize what had happened. Their stares prickled Leafpaw's pelt. She stared at the ground, not wanting to meet any of their hostile gazes.

Onewhisker and Barkface gently set Tallstar's body on the ground. Then Onewhisker sprang to the top of a small boulder that served as WindClan's Highrock. Mudclaw, who had been one of the first cats to pad over to Tallstar's body, immediately sprang up beside him. The smug look on his face told Leafpaw he thought he was about to become leader. However, he sat quietly, waiting for Onewhisker to speak.

"Today we witness the death of a great leader," Onewhisker began. A fresh wave of grief swept through his eyes. "As you can see, Tallstar has just joined StarClan." He opened his mouth to say more, but Mudclaw interrupted him,

"I know we will all miss Tallstar," the brown warrior meowed. "But we must be strong. I will take his place as leader of the Clan, and we will hold a vigil for him tonight."

Onewhisker cleared his throat, looking nervous. "Actually, Mudclaw, there's something I need to say about that. Before Tallstar died, he - he made me his deputy.

Meows of alarm and shock rang through the clearing.

"You mean that Mudclaw isn't our leader?" rasped an elderly brown tom that Leafpaw didn't recognize.

"Did he use the right words?" meowed another cat.

Onewhisker nodded in response to both questions. "Tallstar made me his deputy under the eyes of StarClan," he replied. He turned apprehensively to Mudclaw. "I know that this comes as a huge shock to you, as it does to me," Onewhisker mewed gently, though there was still a nervous twinge to his voice. "But I need your leadership skills now more than ever. Please consider being my deputy."

Mudclaw whipped around to face him, snarling in rage. His eyes blazed like a fire that had just devoured an entire forest.

"_You're_ asking _me_ to be your deputy?!" he spat. "_I _should be the one choosing a new deputy! _I _am the rightful leader of WindClan!"

Leafpaw's pelt bristled in horror. This wasn't supposed to be happening! Onewhisker and Mudclaw fight each other for the position of leader!

Firestar rose to his feet, growling. "Are you questioning Tallstar's authority, Mudclaw? He made Onewhisker the leader of this Clan under the guidance of StarClan!"

"So you say!" Mudclaw hissed back. "But you're a ThunderClan cat! For all we know, you could be lying! Are there no witnesses to what Tallstar said beside you, that apprentice, and Onewhisker?"

"No, but -,"

Firestar's words were quickly cut off. "I rest my case!" Mudclaw growled. "If no one else beside you three heard what Tallstar had to say, then how do we know you aren't lying? You, Firestar, could be trying to take over WindClan for all we know!"

Leafpaw thought that comment would make Firestar even angrier, but on the contrary, he looked much calmer. "The first thing I would like to point out, Mudclaw, is that Leafpaw and I are not just ThunderClan cats!" he meowed. I, as the leader of ThunderClan, have always done my best to help WindClan in their time of need. I would have absolutely no reason for trying to take over your Clan. Futhermore, Leafpaw, who you called 'that apprentice', is ThunderClan's medicine cat! Her pawsteps are guided by StarClan, and she too would have no reason to lie to you."

"As your medicine cat, I agree with what Firestar has to say." Barkface interrupted. "I have known him for a very long time, and I know that he is not a dishonorable cat."

Leafpaw looked nervously around the clearing to see what WindClan's reaction to Mudclaw's outburst was. Most of the cats were whispering anxiously to each other. Some cats looked angry, but the majority just looked confused, as if they didn't know who to believe. Leafpaw felt just as confused as they were. She knew that they were right, but what if the WindClan cats didn't believe them? What would happen then? _Oh, StarClan_, she thought unhappily. _If you are listening, please make this right. Please do not let anything bad come from what is happening right now_.

StarClan did not appear to have heard her, though, for at that moment Mudclaw spoke again.

"Fine," he mewed much more quietly than he had previously. "If you want to believe these fools and follow Onewhisker as your leader, than go right ahead. But I know that I will not be among you in that decision. For I am going to start a stronger, better Clan – MudClan!"


	8. Chapter 8: A Fifth Clan

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

A/N: Hey again! School started again back in August, which of course means tons of homework, which means there'll be even less time for me to work on this story. Unfortunately I'll probably only be able to get a chapter uploaded every three or so months, so I'm sorry about that… Oh, and I still don't know how to make my Author's Note bold – It's bold when I type it in Microsoft Word but then when I put it on Fanfiction it turns back into a regular font. If you know how to fix this please tell me in a review! And even if you don't know how to please review my story anyway! Thanks!

Chapter 8

Leafpaw stared at Mudclaw in horror. He was going to start a new Clan? How could he possibly do that? The warrior code clearly stated that there were only supposed to be four Clans! Besides, who would possibly join this new Clan?

"Who are my supporters?" called Mudclaw loudly.

"I'll support you Mudclaw!" Every cat in the clearing turned to see who had spoken. It was a large black cat that Leafpaw had never seen, but she gathered from the alarmed whispers around her that his name must be Drippingtail.

Soon more voices rang out. "I'll join MudClan!" called an orange-colored cat. "I will too!" called someone else.

"I'll join you Mudclaw!" squeaked a tiny kit that had obviously snuck out of the nursery. His mother hushed him quickly, looking embarrassed, and nudged him back into its protection.

Leafpaw worked to keep panic from flooding through her as she watched WindClan divide itself in half. Five cats had already agreed to join MudClan. But what would happen beyond that? They would need a territory and a camp, not to mention a medicine and a deputy to create a properly working Clan.

She turned to Firestar. Wasn't he going to do anything to stop Mudclaw? Didn't her father see what a bad idea MudClan was?

It was Onewhisker who spoke first, however, the nervous tone to his voice now gone. "Mudclaw," he began icily. "I hope you know, that if you decide to leave WindClan and begin this MudClan, that you will never be welcome in WindClan again. You will be considered an outcast among us, and we will not allow you to share our territory. We will not allow you to take food, herbs, or anything else from our territory. The moment you and your followers decide to leave and begin this new Clan is also the moment we will begin to treat you as our enemies. If we catch sight of you on our territory after that point you will be driven away.

Leafpaw thought she saw a hint of fear flash though the eyes of the cats that had chosen to join Mudclaw's new Clan, but Mudclaw himself raised his head high. *"You will not have to worry about us being on your territory, Onewhisker, for we will soon have our own. With me as their leader, MudClan will mark a better territory and find a better camp. But we will soon be back! When MudClan has grown larger and become stronger, we will be back to take over WindClan!"

And with these words Mudclaw yet out a yowl, calling to the six cats that were now a part of MudClan. They leapt out of their various places among the WindClan cats and raced across the clearing toward Mudclaw with cries of "MudClan!" and "Mudclaw!" As soon as they had all reached him, Mudclaw turned and raced towards the mountains with his tail held high. His followers yowled the name of his new Clan one last time and then galloped after him.

The WindClan cats watched them go quietly. No one, not even Onewhisker or Firestar, tried to stop them. As soon as the cats disappeared over the hill, Firestar turned to Onewhisker.

"Stand by your words," he advised the new leader. "Make sure that if any of those cats come onto your territory again they will have to pay the consequences."

Onewhisker nodded in agreement, and then shook his head as if trying to make sense of the situation.

"What should we do?" he asked Firestar quietly, so that his Clanmates would not hear him. "What should we do about Mudclaw and his new Clan? You heard what he said – he said they would come back to take over WindClan."

"You mustn't let them frighten you," Firestar replied. "There are only six cats in MudClan, while there are at least nineteen in WindClan. If they ever tried to attack you, you could easily drive them away. Mudclaw would be foolish to attack three times as many cats as are in his own Clan.

"Not to mention the fact that MudClan doesn't have a medicine cat." Leafpaw felt she should add her thoughts. "He wouldn't be smart to risk injuring any of his Clanmates if there's no one to heal them.

Onewhisker nodded again, looking a bit reassured. "But then how does he expect to be able to take over WindClan?" he questioned.

Neither Firestar nor Leafpaw knew the answer." I would, of course, keep an eye out for Mudclaw and the members of MudClan, and make sure they do not have a chance to attack you," Firestar decided. "But I also wouldn't worry about it too much. I think helping WindClan adjust to having a new leader and a new home would be my first priority."

Onewhisker bowed his head respectfully to the ThunderClan leader. "I will follow your advice, Firestar," he promised. "Thank you so much for coming today and helping me to adjust to all these sudden changes."

"Of course, Onewhisker," Firestar nodded. "I hope that I've helped. And I'm sorry about the loss of Tallstar. He was a wise leader, and I know that you will follow in his footsteps."

"Thank you," replied Onewhisker. He rested his gaze on Leafpaw. "Thank you for coming too, Leafpaw. I know it was not easy for you to witness that either."

Leafpaw shook her head but responded positively. "I think that this will all turn out fine. It was StarClan that decide there should only be four Clans - they wouldn't allow a fifth."

"I don't believe they would either," Onewhisker mewed. "But I'm afraid the first thing we must think about is whether or not StarClan has followed us to this new home."

Before Leafpaw could insist that they had, however, Onewhisker sighed and shook his head. "But that," he decided, "is a worry for another day. I've already kept you much too long, and I know you must be getting back to your Clan."

The height of the sun in the sky showed the truth of his words – it was already halfway to the horizon. Firestar wished Onewhisker good luck again and then bade both Barkface and him goodbye. They each paid their last respects to Tallstar by gently nosing his fur and then turned and raced back toward their camp.

oooooooo

By the time they returned to ThunderClan the camp was buzzing with the news that their leader and medicine cat had been called away to speak with another Clan's dying leader. The second Firestar and Leafpaw padded through the thorn barrier they were met with an onslaught of questions.

"What did Tallstar want with you?" Dustpelt asked immediately, bounding over to them.

"Is he still alive?" Sorreltail added to Leafpaw directly.

"He's with StarClan now," Leafpaw responded to her friend as Firestar answered Dustpelt's question.

Sorreltail bowed her head sadly. "That's too bad. I didn't know him all that well, but he always seemed nice. Now Mudclaw's the leader of WindClan, right?"

"No, Onewhisker is," Leafpaw mewed, shaking her head.

The expression on Sorreltail's face turned quizzical. "But I thought Mudclaw was the deputy--?"

Before she could finish her question, Firestar's yowl silenced her and the other chattering ThunderClan cats. He had jumped to the Highledge and called, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Most of ThunderClan were already in the center of the clearing because of Firestar and Leafpaw's recent return, but a few trickled out of the nursery and dens at his call.

Once everyone had gathered and the mewing had died down, Firestar began speaking. "As most of you know, Leafpaw and I were called away this morning to WindClan's camp to talk to Tallstar. The reason he wanted to speak to us in particular was to have witnesses from another Clan hear what he was going to say, so that there could be no doubt as to what exactly he said. Unfortunately, he was dying, and he told us that he wanted Onewhisker to become WindClan's leader after him instead of Mudclaw. He used his last words to make Onewhisker his deputy."

Gasps of shock rang out from the cats that had not already heard this news.

"What?" Ferncloud gasped. "So who is the leader of WindClan?"

"Onewhisker is the leader," Firestar replied cautiously. "Mudclaw is now the leader of MudClan."

The cats that had not already gasped at the news of Onewhisker's deputyship now did.

"Mudclaw is the leader of MudClan?!" Sorreltail and Brackenfur both repeated in shock.

"You mean there's now a fifth Clan?" Sandstorm mewed.

Firestar nodded, swishing his tail for silence. Once everyone had quieted down he continued talking.

"When Mudclaw found out that he was not going to become WindClan's leader, he became very angry. He told WindClan that he was going to start a new, better Clan, MudClan, and asked who was going to join him."

Cloudtail opened his mouth to make a comment at this point, but Firestar again swished his tail and the white warrior fell silent.

"Five cats agreed to join MudClan. Onewhisker promised Mudclaw and those cats that they would be treated as enemies if they left WindClan, but they did anyway. Before they left, Mudclaw told Onewhisker that once MudClan grew larger and stronger they would be back to take over WindClan."

"But where will they make a camp?" Thornclaw asked. "They most certainly can't come onto our territory!"

Mews of agreement rang out at his words. "We'll run them off!" Cloudtail snapped.

"We won't even let them come close!" Ashfur agreed.

Firestar nodded. "Of course we won't let them come onto our territory. But I don't think we'll have to worry about that. As Mudclaw said, WindClan is MudClan's enemy right now. They'll be more focused on stealing their territory or attacking them. And at the moment, MudClan is made up of only six cats. If, for some reason, they did decide to come onto our territory we could easily drive them off. Nevertheless, I think it would be smart to start doing more border controls."

It was not until this last sentence that Firestar let a hint of worry creep into his voice. Leafpaw knew that although he worked hard not to show it, her father was just as worried about MudClan as she was. And not for the first time that day, Leafpaw looked up toward the sky where she hoped that StarClan was watching over them, and wished again that they would do something to make this horrible mess right.

Okay, so you see that green button right below this that says, "Review this story"? Click it! Review! I accept anonymous reviews, so even if you don't have a Fanfiction account you still can! So please please please review – it would make me really happy if you did!! :) Thanks!


	9. Chapter 9: The First Gathering

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

A/N: Happy holidays everybody!! Merry Christmas Eve to those of you that celebrate Christmas, can you believe Christmas is tomorrow? Yay! Here's Chapter 9…

Chapter 9

"Sorreltail! Brackenfur! Rainwhisker! Hurry up, you three, we're about to leave!"

"Sorry, Firestar!" Sorreltail replied hastily. "We're coming!"

It was the night of a full moon, and ThunderClan was about to leave for the very first Gathering in their new home. The four Clan leaders had previously agreed that Gatherings would be held by the horseplace until a more suitable spot was found, and so once Sorreltail, Brackenfur, and Rainwhisker caught up with them, the ThunderClan cats sped off toward WindClan's territory. They would be able to cross through this territory safely only on the night of a full moon so that they would be able to reach the Gathering place. Similarly, ShadowClan would be able to cross through RiverClan's territory to reach it as well.

Brambleclaw could feel the excitement in the air crackle like lightning above his Clanmates, but he could also feel their anxiety as well. There had been no word on MudClan since the day Firestar and Leafpaw came with news of its existence, and every cat was wondering what had become of it. No one knew where Mudclaw and his followers were living, and whether or not they would appear at the Gathering. Although Firestar still didn't believe Mudclaw would try to attack ThunderClan, he had left more cats behind than usual during the Gathering to guard the camp.

They slowed their pace as they crossed into WindClan territory, warily scanning the grassland to make sure that no WindClan cats would break the agreement and try to attack them. Brambleclaw did not spot any, however, and the traces of their scent in the air were faint, so he figured that they had already left for the Gathering.

At that moment his attention was drawn away from WindClan's territory, though, when Squirrelflight bounded up to join him. Her eyes were bright with anticipation – not only would this be her first Gathering in her new home, it would also be her fist as a warrior.

"Do you think Firestar will announce at the Gathering that he made Spiderleg and I warriors?" she asked him eagerly. He will, won't he, because he'll want to show strength in the Clan?"

Brambleclaw nodded. "He probably will. It would be a good idea to announce it. Like you said, it'll show that our Clan is still as strong as ever despite everything that's happened recently.

Squirrelflight waved her tail happily. "Good! Oh, and don't forget to say hi to Tawnypelt for me! I haven't seen her since the Journey!"

"I will. Although if ShadowClan has heard about MudClan by now, they've probably left a large amount of cats behind to help protect it. She might have stayed behind to watch over their camp."

Squirrelflight wrinkled her nose. "I don't see why everyone's so worried about MudClan," she scoffed. "It's like Firestar said - they're most likely to attack WindClan, not us, and there's only six cats in their Clan anyway. If they tried to attack us we could easily fight them off."

"I don't think it's likely that they'll cause a problem either," Brambleclaw agreed. "But I think it's just the small possibility that they _could_ attack us that has everyone worried. Living in a new home has already given us enough challenges – no one wants another."

Now Leafpaw had appeared to join the conversation. "I don't think it's just the possibility that MudClan could attack us that has us nervous," she added. "We also have to worry about what they will do in the future. They could try to steal our prey or territory, or they could take over part of WindClan's territory and cause them to try to take over part of ours for lack of space and food."

"I suppose that's true," Squirrelflight mewed, although her expression showed she was still not convinced. "But I still don't see how'll we'll have any problem with them. I mean, how long is MudClan going to last anyway? No Clan would allow them to share their territory or their food, so where will they find a camp? And without a medicine cat and a deputy they won't be able to have a real Clan."

Squirrelflight suddenly broke off her rant mid-sentence. "Wow, we're here already!"

They were the third Clan to arrive at the horse barn. RiverClan and WindClan were already there, the later looking fairly normal despite their loss of Tallstar and the threats from MudClan. ShadowClan, as usual, was late.

Leafpaw immediately bounded away to find the other Clans' medicine cats, while Squirrelflight found Crowfeather and decided to go tease him. Brambleclaw spotted Tawnypelt sitting with two RiverClan cats, and he padded over to greet her.

"Hey Brambleclaw," Tawnypelt mewed as soon as she approached her. "How are you?"

Brambleclaw assured her that he was well and politely nodded at the two cats she was sitting with. One was a petite, dappled-colored she-cat, while the other was a dark brown tom with ice-blue eyes that held a large resemblance to Brambleclaw himself.

"You remember Hawkfrost and Mothwing, don't you?" Tawnypelt flicked her tail toward each of the two cats.

"Of course." Brambleclaw bit back the burn of distrust that entered his stomach when he turned to face his half-brother, Hawkfrost. He had always been suspicious of the RiverClan cat and whether or not he could be trusted. "How's the prey running in your Clan?"

"Very well, thanks." Hawkfrost met his gaze evenly. Brambleclaw noticed that although he gave a first impression of being very confident in himself, Hawkfrost's erect posture and raised head showed that he worked very hard to earn the respect of those around him. Despite his earlier distrust, Brambleclaw felt a rush of pity for his half-brother at this thought – he knew how hard it was to gain the trust of your Clanmates and every other cat in the forest when your father had been known as a murderer. They both had always been prejudged and blamed unfairly for something that had happened before they were born.

"So what do you think of this MudClan?" Hawkfrost asked him directly as Tawnypelt and Mothwing began discussing another topic. "I, for one, think that Mudclaw has gone about creating his new Clan in completely in the wrong way. I believe that if I were trying to start a new Clan, I would gather more supporters before I did, including a suitable deputy and medicine cat. Without those MudClan definitely will not do very well."

"And he also should have found a territory in advance for them to live in," Brambleclaw added. "Without one they're much too vulnerable."

Hawkfrost nodded. "Exactly. MudClan just wasn't very well thought out." He smiled at Brambleclaw. "Now, if you and I started our own Clan, we would do things the right way. We would become powerful enough to take over all four Clans!" he mewed jokingly.

Brambleclaw couldn't help but _mrrow_ with laughter at this suggestion. "I'm sure we would." He then dipped his head politely to his half-brother. "It's been good talking to you, Hawkfrost. I hope we'll see each other more at future Gatherings."

Hawkfrost returned his gesture. "I'm sure we'll see a lot more of each other."

Brambleclaw bid goodbye to Mothwing and Tawnypelt as well, and then padded over to sit beside Squirrelflight as the four leaders prepared to start the Gathering. The bright orange cat was now sitting by herself, staring in the direction from which Brambleclaw had just come with her eyes narrowed and a distrustful look on her face.

Brambleclaw followed her gaze to none other than Hawkfrost, who was now talking with another RiverClan cat.

"Why are you staring at him like that?" he asked, immediately taking offense. The tabby tom didn't like the look of mistrust that he saw in her eyes.

Squirrelflight frowned, a puzzled look on her face. "I don't trust him," Squirrelflight mewed. "And I thought you didn't either. Didn't we agree that he seemed too hungry for power?"

"That was before I knew him," Brambleclaw replied haughtily. "But now I've realized that he's very nice once you get to know him, and he's also my brother. So don't judge him before you know him, will you? There's nothing wrong with him."

"I'm not saying that there is," Squirrelflight retorted, flinching at Brambleclaw's harsh words. "You don't have to get so defensive." She stared at the ground, looking hurt.

Brambleclaw immediately felt guilty. "Squirrelflight, I didn't mean…"

Squirrelflight shook her head, her hurt expression clearing. "Forget about it."

Suddenly the loud rumble of cats thundering across the ground caused all of the Clans to fall silent. Every cat whipped around simultaneously to try to glance the source of the noise, and a shiver of shock shot down Brambleclaw's spine as he realized that MudClan was racing across the ground toward their Gathering. Without thinking he immediately leapt to his feet, teeth bared and claws unsheathed. Assuming there was going to be battle, Brambleclaw prepared himself to attack. However, it was then that he realized that Mudclaw and his followers were beginning to slow down as they reached the large group of cats, rather than speeding up to launch themselves at the four Clans. The gleam of battle was not present in their eyes, their hackles were not raised, and their claws were sheathed. They were not racing across the grassland to attack the cats at the Gathering - from the way it looked they were simply coming to attend it.

Brambleclaw hastily sheathed his claws and let his fur lie flat – he didn't want to appear hostile if MudClan meant them no harm. He was, however, not the only cat that had jumped up in alarm; all around him cats from every Clan were on their feet and ready to fight. They soon saw that there was no visible threat, though, and most sat back down again, looking sheepish. However, the large majority of WindClan cats remained standing, still defensive. They remained like this even as the MudClan cats came to a stop in front of them, their tails held high in the air in a message of peace.

It was this peaceful gesture that surprised Brambleclaw. Although he didn't expect MudClan to try to attack any of the Clans directly, he certainly didn't expect them to act this friendly, much less even come to the Gathering. He felt that attending was a very big risk, considering how hostile each of the Clans felt toward Mudclaw and his followers at the moment. However, Brambleclaw did remind himself that the Gathering was supposed to be a time of peace, and most likely no cat would dare stir up trouble while StarClan was watching them.

Mudclaw did not seem bothered by WindClan and the other Clan's reaction to their appearance. He too must have known that no cat would try to hurt them while they were under a full moon. He hardly even looked at Onewhisker or the other WindClan cats' direction, but instead walked past them without making eye contact. He did not do this as a rude or shameful gesture, but rather a polite, quiet one. Overall, Mudclaw seemed to be doing everything he could to make himself not appear as a threat.

At this point the standing WindClan cats had no choice but to accept the fact that MudClan posed no danger toward them. They sat back down, and although they let their fur lie flat, none of them lost the gleam of anger and distrust they held in their eyes.

Even though the other Clans did not dislike MudClan as much as WindClan did, Brambleclaw could still feel the tension crackle in the air as Mudclaw passed through them. The rows of cats on either side of him slid back to let him pass like waves being pulled by the ocean. Everyone watched him suspiciously, wondering what his motives were for coming to this Gathering and what he was planning to do there.

Mudclaw padded up the path that had opened in the middle of the four Clans and then walked over to where Firestar, Leopardstar, Blackstar, and Onewhisker were sitting on a small hill in the grass. He nodded respectfully to each one of them and then sat down beside them. The other members of MudClan followed his lead and settled themselves next to the other Clans.

A moment of silence followed this proceeding as every cat tried to make sense of what exactly was happening, but then Blackstar cleared his throat loudly and the Gathering suddenly began.

"Well," Blackstar started, throwing an uneasy glance toward Mudclaw, "today ShadowClan has some good news to report. Smokepaw has recently become a warrior and is now Smokefur."

He paused to let the mews of congratulations float up into the air. The small, smoke-colored tom beamed with pride as his accomplishment was recognized.

"Other than that, there is not much to say. Luckily, the prey is running well and there have been no Twoleg sightings on our territory at this point."

"ThunderClan also has new warriors," Firestar mewed as soon as Blackstar had finished speaking. "Both Squirrelpaw and Spiderpaw are now Squirrelflight and Spiderleg."

Squirrelflight glowed with pride beside him. Various meows of, "Congratulations, Squirrelflight!" and "Great job, Spiderleg!" were chorused around them.

"The prey is also running well in ThunderClan. We are having no problems in our new territory and are as strong as ever."

Firestar was wise to emphasize the strength of their Clan, especially since Mudclaw was there. It would make his and all the other Clans think twice before trying to provoke or attack them.

At that point Leopardstar stated that her Clan was doing fine, as did Onewhisker. He made no mention of MudClan, their threats, or even the fact that WindClan was now six cats shorter. He only mewed quickly that Tallstar had passed on to StarClan and that he was now the new leader of the Clan, although Brambleclaw doubted that any cat did not already know that.

At this point all of the Clan leaders except for Mudclaw had shared their news. A heavy silence fell over the clearing as every pair of eyes turned to Mudclaw, waiting.

The brown tom cleared his throat, his gaze resting upon the crowd of cats for a moment. "The prey," he began, with a cool confidence in his voice, "is also running well in MudClan. We have found a camp in the hills beyond WindClan's territory, and have marked our territory accordingly. Any cat that trespasses will be severely punished."

He paused to let the words sink in. Brambleclaw found them to be quite ironic, since Mudclaw had implied that he was planning on invading WindClan's territory sometime in the future.

I have appointed Ashfoot as my deputy. MudClan is getting stronger every day, but we still need more warriors, and a medicine cat. Because of this, we would like to offer any cat that is willing, no matter what Clan, a place inside of our Clan."

Brambleclaw watched as the eyes of all four leaders widened in shock. So that was the reason Mudclaw had come to the Gathering – he was trying to get more cats to join his Clan! But to try to not only persuade WindClan cats to join him but also the cats of the other Clans was not a wise choice, at least not to Brambleclaw. He knew that no ThunderClan cat would accept his offer, and he didn't think anyone else would either.

"What?" Squirrelflight whispered beside him, also in shock. "He's asking _us_ to join his Clan?"

She wasn't the only one who had taken offense to this offer. Angry whispers broke out in the entire group of cats, all wondering why Mudclaw would think that they would want to join his Clan.

"Yeah right!" Cloudtail mocked arrogantly from where he was sitting beside Brightheart, despite her hushed mew of warning. "Like any of us would want to join your Clan! We all know you're just a bunch of stupid, greedy furballs!"

A low growl escaped the throat of an apparent MudClan cat Brambleclaw didn't recognize.

"Look who's talking! What do you know, kittypet?"

Anger flashed red-hot through Cloudtail's eyes. Before anyone could stop him he threw himself at the sneering MudClan cat with a howl of fury. Landing on the tom's back, Cloudtail ripped his claws down his side, causing the MudClan cat to screech with pain. In revenge he whipped around and sank his teeth straight into the ThunderClan cat's tail.

As soon as two more MudClan cats leaped to the first's defense, Dustpelt and Thornclaw jumped in to help Cloudtail, and suddenly, right before their eyes, a battle had started at the Gathering.

"Stop!" cried Firestar angrily. "All of you stop!"

Cloudtail, Dustpelt, and Thornclaw all backed away hastily from their opponents, looking ashamed. Luckily, none of them seemed seriously hurt – Cloudtail's tail was bleeding, and Thornclaw had torn a claw, but other that that they were fine.

The MudClan cats hadn't gotten away unscathed either – one's ear was torn, and the other two had large scratches up their side.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves," Firestar mewed, his voice cold with disappointment, as if he were reprimanding a young apprentice for sneaking out of camp. All of you – especially my warriors – should know better than to start a fight at a Gathering!" Firestar turned to glare at Cloudtail, who couldn't hide his smug expression as he appraised the MudClan cats' injuries. "This is a time of peace, and StarClan is watching over us!"

"But are they?" Mistyfoot interrupted nervously. "Look – the moon is still clear! If StarClan was watching, they would have covered the moon with clouds to stop the fight!"

Meows of alarm rippled through the cats. Mistyfoot was right – the full moon was still shining brightly, and there were no clouds in sight. Did this mean that StarClan did not care about the fight, or even the fact that a fifth Clan had been added? Or were they not there to watch over the Gathering at all? Brambleclaw found himself questioning yet again whether or not StarClan had followed them to their new home by the lake. He glanced over at Leafpaw, who was sitting on the other side of Squirrelflight, to see what her reaction was. The look on her face told him that she was also questioning this although she did not want to.

Once everyone had calmed down, Blackstar began to speak. "Even if StarClan is not watching us, I'm sure that does not mean that they are not with us. They too need time to adjust to their new home. Now, we might as well get on with the Gathering. The six cats can be punished further as their Clan leader sees fit. As Mudclaw has asked, would anyone like to join MudClan?"

The cats of the four Clans shook their heads silently, without anyone else objecting out loud. Both the fight between the ThunderClan and MudClan cats and the lack of StarClan's interference seemed to have captured their voices.

Mudclaw stiffened slightly at the news that no cat wanted to join his Clan, but still held nothing but a quiet calmness in his expression. Although Brambleclaw thought for a moment he saw a spark of anger ignite in the brown tom's eyes, it was gone before he could be sure that it was ever really there. "Very well," he mewed. "I guess none of you will be welcomed into MudClan tonight, but perhaps with time the thought of joining us will become more appealing. I'll make sure to ask again at the next Gathering and will give you time in the present to think it over."

Blackstar nodded, masking his expression of doubt with a look of feigned agreement. "And I guess that wraps up tonight's Gathering." He turned to the other leaders. "We agree to meet here once again next moon?"

The four other leaders nodded in agreement, and with that each one, including Mudclaw, leaped down to join their Clan and lead them quietly back to their camp.

Thanks for reading Chapter Nine! Now, pleaseplease click that pretty button beneath this and review my story! Please guys, it'd be a great Christmas present for me :)


	10. Chapter 10: Leafpaw's Fear

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

**A/N: Happy 2010!! Today's a snow day for most of the people in Arizona… We've been hit by this giant winter storm! So anyways, that's the reason I've gotten this chapter out pretty fast – I've had lots of days off from school to work on it. Anyways, please, please, please review!! It would make me way happy :)**

Chapter 10

"How was the Gathering?" Cinderpelt quickly pressed upon Leafpaw as to how their Gathering had gone as soon as they arrived back at camp.

Leafpaw sighed. She and the other ThunderClan cats that had attended had arrived back at camp late due to MudClan's appearance and Cloudtail's fight, causing the cats that had stayed at the camp extra anxiety. Their normally high spirits after a Gathering had been lowered due to the fight with MudClan and the lack of appearance from StarClan.

"Well?" Cinderpelt prodded when Leafpaw did not answer immediately. "Did MudClan attend?"

"Yes," Leafpaw replied. "Mudclaw didn't come for a fight, though. He just asked if there were any cats from Clans beside WindClan that wanted to join MudClan."

Cinderpelt's whiskers twitched in surprise. "Mudclaw wanted cats from other Clans to join him? Did anyone?"

Leafpaw shook her head. "Cloudtail did, however, start a fight with one of the MudClan cats over that suggestion of Mudclaw's." She raised her voice as the white warrior she was speaking of padded over to them, his wounded tail dragging behind him.

"Save it," Cloudtail muttered, sagging down beside them. "I've already been punished enough. Firestar will have me plucking ticks off the elders for _moons_." He sighed unhappily and turned to Leafpaw. "Could you give me something for my tail? It's stopped bleeding, but it still stings."

Leafpaw nodded, her annoyance at the white warrior for the trouble at the Gathering drifting away in moment sympathy.

"Come into the medicine cat den and I'll give you some marigold," Leafpaw instructed. "That will stop the stinging and keep it from getting infected."

She found a clump of marigold in their herb stores and began carefully chewing it to a pulp. Once done, she gently pressed it to the cut in Cloudtail's tail, making sure the healing juices seeped in.

"Thank Leafpaw," he mewed, his eyes closed in a second of pleasure. "It feels better already."

"You're welcome. And don't be too worried about your punishment," Leafpaw added. "I don't think Firestar will be too harsh on you.

"I hope so," Cloudtail nodded. He got up, giving his tail an experimental flick. "Well, I'll go talk to Firestar and get it over with. This will heal in a few days, won't it?"

Cinderpelt nodded. "It should. Come back tomorrow so we can check it for infection, though."

Once the white warrior had left Cinderpelt turned to Leafpaw. "So what exactly happened to Cloudtail at the Gathering?"

Leafpaw quickly explained the story to her mentor. "When Mudclaw asked if there were any cats that wanted to join MudClan, Cloudtail made a remark that no one would want to join them because they were all stupid furballs. Then, of course, one of the MudClan cats had to retort by calling him a kittypet, and Cloudtail jumped onto him. Dustpelt and Thornclaw got involved, as did two other MudClan cats. It turned into a fight, and Firestar had to stop it."

Cinderpelt sighed knowingly. "Cloudtail's arrogance can get the better of him at times, and I'm not surprised one of the MudClan cats took advantage of it. Were Dustpelt and Thornclaw hurt?"

"Thornclaw did have a few scratches. I hope he comes to see us soon, I should probably give him some marigold…" she trailed off, scanning the clearing for the golden brown warrior.

"He's talking to Firestar," Cinderpelt pointed out. "I'm sure he'll see us in a minute. What about Dustpelt? Was he hurt?"  
Leafpaw shook her head. "He's fine." She opened her mouth to speak again, but then closed it. She was much more worried about the lack of StarClan's appearance than the fight with MudClan, and she wanted her mentor's opinion on it, but she wasn't sure how to bring it up.

"Cinderpelt…" she began. "Something happened after that fight."

Cinderpelt's blue eyes blinked calmly. "What's that?"

"Well, you know that the Gathering is a time of peace – that we're not supposed to fight there. But even during the fight the sky stayed clear. StarClan never covered the moon with a cloud. Doesn't that mean that they weren't watching us at the Gathering? That they weren't there?"

Leafpaw gulped. She had made it to root of her fear – the fear that StarClan hadn't followed them to their new home by the lake, that they would no longer have the guidance of their warrior ancestors. She didn't know what her life would become if she didn't have that guidance.

Cinderpelt was silent for a moment as she thought. "It doesn't necessarily mean that they weren't watching over you," she finally decided. "Perhaps the fight didn't last long enough for StarClan to pass a cloud over the moon to stop it. They might not have taken any action because Firestar ended quickly enough."

Leafpaw wasn't convinced. "But even if StarClan didn't feel the need to stop the fight, wouldn't they have intervened when Mudclaw asked us if anyone wanted to join his Clan? Surely they think it's wrong for there to be a fifth Clan."

Cinderpelt had an answer for this as well. "StarClan has their ways," she mewed gently to her apprentice. "Maybe they felt that it was not the right time to intervene with Mudclaw, or that his Clan will be taken care of by itself."

She brushed Leafpaw's shoulder gently with her tail. "StarClan has come with us to the lake, Leafpaw. I have no doubt in that."


	11. Chapter 11: Finding StarClan

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

**A/N: Hey guys! How was February for you? Have you been watching American Idol? I definitely have – anything to get out of Geometry homework, right? I think I'll be watching more TV now anyways, because my family is finally getting a satellite dish! Before we just had this funky little antenna on top of our roof that picked up like nine channels… Lol. I bet having less than ten channels is hard for you guys to even imagine, right? But my point is that, if I take a really long time to upload the next chapter, it's probably because I'm spending way too much time in front of the TV, absorbing more channels than I've ever had in my life…. :) Anyways, here's Chapter 11- enjoy it! And don't forget to review!!! If you don't review very horrible things will happen… **

**Chapter 11**

That night Leafpaw dreamed. Unlike the dream that she had previously experienced, though, where she had received the "blood will spill blood" prophecy, she felt calm and at peace.

She found herself bounding through the forest, the half-moon shining brightly above her. The trees rustled gently in the wind, and the ground was soft beneath her paws.

Suddenly the WindClan border appeared ahead of her, but she crossed it without hesitating. Her paws felt as light as air and she knew exactly where she was going. She bounded up the grassy slope at the side of WindClan's border and headed toward the large stream that cut through the hillside.

When she came to the side of this stream she began to follow it up the hill. The water beside her bubbled and danced as it cheerfully slid through its journey, and although she did not know why, her mood was as carefree as the water. Energy and excitement filled and emanated from her.

At first the stream carried her through soft, grassy hills that rolled smoothly across the ground. Leafpaw enjoyed this, as the grass was a welcome relief from the sharp sticks and leaves that dotted ThunderClan's territory, but gradually the grass changed to pebble and the hills became steeper. She left the area that WindClan cats frequently traversed and head into a rock-covered, far away area that had obviously never been explored. At least, she thought it had never been explored, until abruptly she reached an area where the rock that was worn with paw prints – a sign that cats _had_ traveled over this area. This confused her for a moment – what cats had made these marks? But then she realized that ancient cats who had lived here long ago must have regularly journeyed on this same path.

Leafpaw happily placed her feet into these indented paw prints as she bounded across the rock. The wind whistled loudly and wrapped closely around her, pulling her along. It acted impatient, as if it was eager to show her an exciting surprise.

Leafpaw's anticipation increased as she traveled. Something wonderful was going to happen, she just wasn't sure what it was yet. Hopefully she would soon find out.

Once she had been walking for quite a while, Leafpaw came to a spot where the river merged into a shallow, twinkling pool. The water made a soft, bubbling noise as it slunk into the pool, and the wind picked up in excitement.

Suddenly the sound of voices floated around Leafpaw, rising and falling like the song of a bird. Gradually they began to get louder and louder, until it was as if Leafpaw was standing in a clearing full of cats.

At that moment they appeared – the shining, starry figures of StarClan. They sat quietly around the pool, their eyes staring into Leafpaw. And then one cat emerged, walking out to stand in front of her.

"We are here, Leafpaw," Spottedleaf's sweet scent wrapped warmly around her. "Follow this path we have shown you, and you will find us."

O O O

Leafpaw startled awake. She lay panting in her moss next to Cinderpelt for a moment, feeling as if she really had trekked across both ThunderClan and WindClan. As she came to her senses, a wave of excitement tumbled into her stomach as she realized exactly what her dream meant – StarClan had followed them to their home by the lake! Their warrior ancestors were still watching over them! A wave of relief swept over Leafpaw as she came to this realization.

Spottedleaf had said to follow the path StarClan had shown her and she would find them. Leafpaw had no doubt that they wanted her to find the sparkling pool of water from her dream, and she knew exactly how to get there. The only problem was that she would have to cross WindClan's territory to reach it. However, she was not too concerned about this. She felt any cat would allow her onto their territory if she explained her message from StarClan, as every cat desperately need a way to contact them.

Leafpaw's common sense told her that even if this was the case, she should still wait until morning to explain her dream to Cinderpelt and Firestar, and then have at least one cat come with her to find it, in case any trouble should arise. However, her paws were itching to go right away, even though it was still the middle of the night. She feared that if she waited until morning she would no longer be able to remember the route to the pool.

It was these reasons that caused Leafpaw to rise quietly out of her nest and pad quickly out of the medicine cat den, being careful not to wake Cinderpelt. She padded out of the dirtplace tunnel so as not seem suspicious, and then dashed off into the night.

She followed the path she had taken in her dream, her ears pricked for the sound of any other cat that might be taking a midnight stroll. While she still felt that she would not be stopped by any cat if she explained her situation, she was still keen to avoid meeting anyone, especially a WindClan Cat. She knew that they were still tense from MudClan's threat and may attack before she had a chance to tell them why she was intruding on their territory.

Leafpaw made it across the upper portion of ThunderClan's territory and was still fairly sure of the direction she was taking when she paused on the boundary between ThunderClan and WindClan's territory. Sure that there were no WindClan border patrols anywhere near, she bounded onto their grassy terrain and continued on her journey.

She followed the sound of water and quickly found the bubbling stream she had been shown in her dream. She was quite pleased that this journey was turning out to be so simple – just as simple as it had been in her dream, where there had been no one to interrupt her. She stopped for a minute to let the gentle breeze ruffle her fur, sighing happily. StarClan was so close… Soon she would meet them again.

An explosion of smoke-colored fur suddenly clouded Leafpaw's vision. Before she could react, she was knocked off her feet by a yowling WindClan warrior. Crowfeather's breath came in angry puffs; his face was whiskers away from hers as he pinned her to the ground.

"What are you doing on our land?" he growled.

"I-I…" Leafpaw was so surprised by his attack she found herself unable to speak. Staring up into his ice blue eyes, the confusing feeling that Leafpaw always experienced around him bubbled up inside her. Her stomach flopped and her fur tingled. However, she was annoyed that he even had the nerve to talk to her in the way that he had, even if she wasn't supposed to be on his territory – he knew her well because of his friendship with Squirrelflight, so why did he always have to seem so obnoxious and uncaring?

"Get off me!"

"Not until you admit you were going attack out camp!"

"I'm not even _near_ your camp!" Leafpaw panted as she struggled under Crowfeather's weight. "Besides, I'm the only one here! Why would I try to attack your camp by myself?"

"I don't know! Why do ThunderClan cats do anything?" He shoved down on her harder. "I'm not letting you up until you tell me why you're on our territory!"

Leafpaw glowered at this aggravating cat. She didn't want _him_ to be the first to learn of her discovery, but it looked like she had no choice. At least she wasn't being taken back to the WindClan camp as a prisoner for Onewhisker to deal with.

"I was trying to find StarClan," she explained. "They sent me a dream that showed me where to find them."

Crowfeather raised his eyebrows mockingly. "Oh, really? And so they're on WindClan's territory?"

"No! Well, yes – in a way. StarClan told me to find the stream on your territory and then follow it up the hill away from the mountains. Up past the edge of your territory the stream meets with a small pool. That's where StarClan is."

The smoke-colored tom stared down at her for a few moments, as if deciding if her words held any truth. Then he sighed and sheathed his claws, releasing her.

"Okay," he mewed a bit uncertainly. "You seem like you're telling the truth. But--" he glared at her once again – "I'm coming with you to this pool thing. That way I can make sure you won't try anything."

The relief that had swept over Leafpaw when Crowfeather had released her suddenly disappeared again. To have this tom who confused her with her own feelings and whose personality seemed prickly and distant accompany her on her mission was the last thing she wanted to have happen. However, she knew she had no other choice. It was her fault for getting caught on an enemy Clan's territory, and she must pay the consequences.

Begrudgingly Leafpaw eased herself to her feet – the places that Crowfeather's claws had dug into her skin now stung quite badly – and began to lead the way up the river.

Crowfeather followed her as a shadow might at sundown – closely and with an air of suspicion. She felt his blue eyes boring into her skin.

She tried to decipher the odd feeling she felt whenever she was around this cat - there seemed to be an invisible force that pulled her to him as the moon pulls the ocean. She couldn't describe it, but emotions stirred more forcefully inside of her when she was around Crowfeather than at any other time. The problem was that she couldn't figure out exactly what those emotions were.

Leafpaw shifted her focus back to her surroundings. The stream was beginning to climb more steeply through the mountains, just as it had in her dream. Her hopes climbed along with the water as she realized how close she was to finding StarClan.

The two cats reached the area where the grass changed to pebbles and they in turn turned to stone. The same footprints of ancient cats that Leafpaw had walked trough in her dream indented sharply into the rock, and her feet slipped naturally inside of them as they had before. Crowfeather followed her apprehensively, cautiously checking each indent before placing his paw inside, as if he feared a fox would pop out of one.

Leafpaw jumped slightly as a soft murmuring filled her ears. That hadn't happened in her dream – at least not until she had reached the pool of water and found StarClan. She checked behind her to see if Crowfeather had heard anything, but he had obviously not because his distant expression was unchanged.

She puzzled for a moment over the source of the voices – was it StarClan greeting her earlier than expected? She didn't think it was, because although she could not properly make them out, she had an odd suspicion that these voices did not belong to any cat she had ever known. Then it hit her – Most likely the voices were those of the cats that had made the indents in the rock. Walking in those footprints must have connected Leafpaw to the ancient cats. This thought pleased her. If these long-ago cats had thrived in the area around the lake, then hopefully the Clans would be able to as well.

Much faster than expected the object that Leafpaw had been longing to find ever since they had arrived by the lake was there, right in front of her eyes – a connection to StarClan. It had appeared in the form of a sparkling, shining pool, just as it had in Leafpaw's dream. The stars in the night sky reflected onto the water and danced brightly there, eager that she had come.

Behind her, Crowfeather's eyes widened in amazement. He knew now, of course, that she had been telling the truth about why she was on WindClan's territory, but this wasn't his biggest surprise. Judging by the expression on his face, he most definitely understood the significance of what they had found – a way for all their medicine cats and Clan leaders to speak with and receive advice from StarClan. Most importantly to Crowfeather, Onewhisker would now be able to receive his leader name and nine lives.

It was not long, however, before Leafpaw was swept away from Crowfeather into another world of her own making. As the gentle whispers of her warrior ancestors wrapped around her, she felt the stress she had harbored lately about whether or not she would ever see StarClan again melt into warm relief as she was connected with its cats.

The starry figures of StarClan materialized around Leafpaw. Though their haunches rested on the sandy shore of the pool, their front paws dipped into the water, and the cool liquid swirled around them. Their whiskers twitched as they blinked proudly at Leafpaw.

"You have found us, Leafpaw." Spottedleaf's eyes twinkled as she approached the young medicine cat.

Leafpaw dipped her head. "Only because of you, Spottedleaf. You were the one that showed me how to find this pool."

"Yes, but you were the one that took the risk of trying to find the Moonpool. We gave that dream to you, Leafpaw, because we knew you would work the hardest to turn it into a reality."

Leafpaw glowed with pleasure. "Is that what you want me to call this place?" she questioned. "The Moonpool?"

Spottedleaf nodded. "I think that's a fitting name for it, don't you?" She smiled down at Leafpaw as she and the other StarClan cats slowly began to fade. "We will see you again soon, Leafpaw. The half-moon will soon be upon us. We will show the other medicine cats in their dreams what you have found, and they will meet you at the half-moon.

"I will, Spottedleaf." For once Leafpaw was too happy to mind that her warrior ancestors were leaving before she had a proper chance to talk with them. Her overwhelming elation was still spinning inside of her, ballooning up into her chest so that she felt as if her feet would float right off the ground. She closed her eyes, trying to absorb the fact that she had found StarClan. She had found StarClan. She really had found StarClan.

"Wow…" Crowfeather's whisper brought Leafpaw back to reality. He turned to her, staring at her with a star struck look shining in his eyes. "They were real, weren't they?" he asked, his voice still a whisper. "That really was StarClan standing there, wasn't it?"

Leafpaw nodded, her prickliness with the WindClan warrior softening just a bit - she was pleased that he could appreciate how special meeting with StarClan was.

"Yes," she replied. "We've done it, Crowfeather! We've found StarClan!"

He was beginning to share her excitement. "Onewhisker will be able to receive his nine lives!"

"The medicine cats will be able to be given prophecies!" Leafpaw added onto his thoughts.

A bright happiness that Leafpaw had never seen before in the normally withdrawn warrior's eyes suddenly sparkled there. He gazed happily at her, and she suddenly felt shy.

"Thanks for, you know, believing me when I told you about the Moonpool," she mewed to him. "I'd much rather be here than a prisoner in your camp."

Crowfeather grinned bashfully. "That's okay. I'm just glad we found this place – if we hadn't, and you had been lying about it, I really would have had to take you to Onewhisker!"

Leafpaw _mrrowed _with laughter. "Well, it's a good thing we found this place then, isn't it?"

She gazed up at the sky, checking to see how late it had become. It was much later than she had realized – the moon was nearly to the horizon. The sun would soon be rising.

"Crowfeather!" she gasped. "Look how late it is! We've got to be getting back to camp!"

"His head immediately tilted toward the sky. "You're right! Is there anything else you need to do here?"

Leafpaw shook her head. "No."

"Then let's get going!"

They raced away from the pool, following the stream back down the hill. Padding across the large outcropping of rocks, Leafpaw was in too much of a hurry to bother placing her feet inside the indented prints of the ancient cats. Instead she leaped quickly across them with Crowfeather following closely behind.

Back on the soft, marshy grass of WindClan's inner territory, both cats were able to run much faster. They sped across the open ground, not even bothering to check for any WindClan patrols. Soon they reached the border between WindClan and ThunderClan. They stopped there, resting.

"Well," Leafpaw panted, "I guess I'll see you later."

Crowfeather nodded. "We'll see each other at the next Gathering, I suppose."

Leafpaw nodded too. "Well," she mewed again a bit awkwardly, "Goodbye, Crowfeather."

He gazed gently into her eyes. "Goodbye, Leafpaw."

With that they parted ways. Leafpaw couldn't help but stand there and watch Crowfeather as he padded away – a strange longing filled her as she saw him walk away. She wasn't sure why she was so sad to see him go – he was just a WindClan cat! She didn't even know him that well, except she knew that he didn't care for his prickly personality. And she really didn't care for the strange feelings she experienced whenever he was around. Although that night, when he was with her at the Moonpool, his prickly personality had morphed into something gentler and more caring. And the feelings she had around him had become much more pleasant. Instead of feeling confused, she had felt… happy. When she had gazed at her, she felt like everything was going to be fine.

Was it possible that Leafpaw might possibly be falling in love with Crowfeather…? No. That was ridiculous. Leafpaw wouldn't even allow herself to think that she was falling in love with Crowfeather. That wasn't even possible! She was a medicine cat; she was not allowed to fall in love. And Crowfeather – he was a WindClan cat. He was forbidden to fall in love with her as well. No, she was not falling in love with a WindClan warrior, that was for sure. Leafpaw pushed away every last stray thought that involved Crowfeather to strengthen this decision and headed on her way.

O O O

The first rays of sunlight were just reaching their fingers through the leaves of the trees as Leafpaw bounded back into camp. She entered through the dirt place tunnel as she had done when she had left, but luckily no cat was awake yet. She padded softly back to the medicine cat den. A twig snapped loudly beneath her paw as she walked, and she cringed, expecting someone to leap out and confront her, but again, no one was awake to hear it. She snuck into her den and curled up in her nest next to Cinderpelt. Exhausted from her midnight trip, she quickly slipped into a deep sleep where she dreamed of StarClan, the Moonpool, and Crowfeather.


	12. Chapter 12: The Fall of MudClan

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.**

**A/N: Hey everybody! So, tomorrow's my birthday! I'll finally be turning fifteen, yay! I had my birthday party last night, which was also the night of the prom. Did any of you go to your proms? If so, how was it? I'm only a freshman, so I didn't go to mine, but in a few years I guess I will! Anyway, here's Chapter 12! **

**Chapter 12**

A sprinkle of tension prickled Brambleclaw's pelt as soon as he spotted Squirrelflight approaching him from the other side of ThunderClan's camp. Ever since their brief argument at the recent Gathering, their relationship had been a bit uneasy – Brambleclaw couldn't help but still feel annoyed at the comments Squirrelflight had made about Hawkfrost, and she still seemed angry about the way he had snapped at her. However, he made up his mind at that moment that he would push away these feelings and move on – he wanted to return to the easy relationship they had had a few days before.

"Hey Brambleclaw!" Squirrelflight mewed good-naturedly as soon as she reached him. "How are you?" She seemed to feel the same way he did about putting aside their hard feelings.

"I'm good." Brambleclaw relaxed as they slid back into their normal interactions. "So, how much trouble have you gotten into today?" he mewed jokingly.

Squirrelflight's eyes twinkled mischievously. "For your information, I haven't gotten into any at all!" In fact, I've actually been helpful – I collected herbs with Leafpaw this morning."

"Is she still as excited about finding StarClan as she was yesterday?"

"Yep." Squirrelflight grinned. "You can tell how relieved she is that she finally found them."

"I'm pretty relived too," Brambleclaw decided. "I think we'll all feel safer now that we know our ancestors are watching over us. And perhaps Mudclaw won't be so eager to attack Onewhisker now, because he'll soon receive his nine lives. WindClan will appear as more of a threat once it has a strong, official leader."

Squirrelflight nodded. " I bet you're right. You don't think Mudclaw will try to get nine lives as well, though, do you? I wouldn't put it past him to try."

"He's got to realize that there's no chance StarClan would give him nine lives. After all, just _having_ a fifth Clan is against the warrior code. "They're not going to support its leader."

"But then what does Mudclaw expect to achieve by having a fifth Clan? He's got to have some sort of motive."

Brambleclaw shrugged. "I don't know what his plan is, but whatever it is I just hope it doesn't endanger our Clan."

O O O

The moon was at its highest point in the sky when a gasping, terrified voice suddenly sounded from outside the entrance tunnel, yelping, "Firestar! Firestar!" A second later a scraggly, bleeding young cat burst into ThunderClan's camp. It was Owlpaw, a young WindClan apprentice, and at his calls Firestar leapt out of his den, shaking the sleep from his fur. Every other cat raced into the clearing, blinking to adjust their eyes to the dark night.

"What is it?"  
The small cat could not answer for a moment because of lack of breath. He stood there panting, his sides heaving, while Brambleclaw and the other ThunderClan cats clustered around him anxiously.

Finally he could speak. "MudClan's attacking our camp! They caught us by surprise, and they're much more powerful than we realized they would be… You must help us! Please, Firestar, help us drive them away!"

Firestar did not hesitate. "Of course we'll help you! Brambleclaw, Squirrelflight, Cloudtail…" he called out the names of the cats that would join the fight. "The rest of you, please stay here and guard the camp." With that he nodded at Owlpaw, allowing the small cat to lead the way into the forest.

As Brambleclaw bounded towards WindClan's territory behind the other ThunderClan cats, he considered the situation that their neighboring Clan was in. He could not deny that Mudclaw had been clever in choosing the time that he attacked – any Clan was more vulnerable at night when nearly every cat was asleep and unprepared to fight. Even smarter was the fact that Onewhisker had not gotten his nine lives yet – Mudclaw must have wanted to attack while he was still not officially a leader.

As they drew nearer to WindClan's camp the howls and wails of fighting cats burst into the air. Brambleclaw could not tell from the sounds, but he guessed that WindClan was still losing the battle. He sped down the hill into the camp, hoping that they were not too late to help them.

Inside of the camp, the sight was even worse than the sound. The WindClan cats, already weakened by Tallstar's death and the betrayal of the MudClan cats, were being ambushed in their own home. All around the camp, the MudClan cats were slowly driving WindClan out of their camp.

Brambleclaw immediately launched himself into battle. Morningflower, a WindClan queen, was struggling under the weight of a huge brown MudClan cat that was repeatedly raking his claws across her sides with loud cries of triumph. Before the tom knew what was happening Brambleclaw was on top of him, ripping his claws down his back. The cat yowled in pain, flopping over on Brambleclaw in an effort to crush him. Luckily Brambleclaw was seconds ahead of him, and with adrenaline pumping through his veins he leapt from underneath him just in time, raking his claws across the cat again as he went. This seemed to be the breaking point – the MudClan cat turned tail and fled away. Morningflower blinked gratefully at him in thanks and then disappeared into the mass of fighting cats.

Smugly Brambleclaw turned to survey the rest of fight. Luckily, ThunderClan's assistance seemed to have come at just the right time – all around him the MudClan cats were being forced to surrender. In the middle of the clearing, though, Mudclaw was battling Onewhisker, and it looked like Mudclaw was winning. He was on top of the WindClan leader, pinning him to the ground and battering his belly with his hind claws. Mudclaw's eyes gleamed with an evil triumph that sent a chill down Brambleclaw's spine, and suddenly he screeched loudly, "Give it up, Onewhisker! Surrender now and I'll let you run away into the forest like the coward that you are! But keep fighting and I'll be forced to kill you!"

Onewhisker glared defiantly up at the ruthless cat. "Of course I'm not going to surrender!" he panted as he tried to throw Mudclaw off him. "What do you think I am, a wailing kit about to run off to its mother? I'll --"

He never finished his sentence. For at that moment, Brambleclaw and Firestar both leapt into the air, sailing towards Mudclaw. Time seemed to slow down as they rammed heavily into him, knocked him off Onewhisker, and then collapsed together into a pile.

But it was too late. A mere second before they had reached him Mudclaw had ripped his paw out of its grip on Onewhisker's shoulder and sliced it cleanly through his neck. Bright crimson blood now gushed out of Onewhisker's throat, forming a pool on the ground beside him. His mouth soundlessly formed the words that he had never gotten to say.

"Onewhisker! Onewhisker, no!" gasps of shock ran through the cats like a snowstorm through a forest. Ice cold terror gripped Brambleclaw as shrieks echoed around him and he stared into Onewhisker's glazed eyes. The leader's breath came in short gasps, and blood continued to pour from his wound. Numbly Brambleclaw unleashed his grip on Mudclaw and turned to gape at the fallen WindClan cat.

Horrible laughter rang out from Mudclaw. "I am the leader of WindClan now!" he shouted triumphantly. "Onewhisker is dead!"

But he had spoken too soon. Something was happening to Onewhisker – his eyes had closed, and his body had gone completely rigid – but his chest was still rising and falling with the breaths that he took. Stars sparkled on his coat, but instead of settling there as they did on cats about to join StarClan, they began to spin and dance around the large wound on his throat. Then suddenly they disappeared, and were replaced by nothing but a small scar on the base of Onewhisker's throat. His wound and the blood produced by it were gone, vanished as if they were never there to begin with.

At that moment, the swirling stars appeared again, but they did not land upon Onewhisker's fur. Instead they rose up into the air, and suddenly Tallstar appeared on the ground. He looked healthy and youthful again, and the stars of StarClan danced in his eyes and fur.

"Onewhisker," he began to the clearing of cats sitting in awe before him, "is not dead. We have given him his nine lives, and he will return to you soon as the rightful leader of WindClan." With those few words he turned and smiled gently at his past Clanmates. "Soon WindClan will thrive again. Do not worry about your future."

Then, in the blink of an eye, Tallstar was gone. Every cat was silent for a moment as they reflected upon what he had said. Onewhisker continued to lie still in the cool green grass, and Brambleclaw knew that he must be sharing dreams with StarClan.

It took a while for anyone to realize that Mudclaw was not still standing by Firestar and Brambleclaw. However, he had not gone far – he had simply receded to the edge of the group of cats, apparently fearful of the sudden appearance of Tallstar. Now that he was brought to mind again, every cat turned together to stare at him, seemingly waiting to see what his next action would be. He seemed to have lost his power – even his fellow MudClan cats seemed horrified at his attempt on Onewhisker's life.

One of these MudClan cats fearlessly and angrily stepped up to him. "You lied to us!" His indignation rasped red-hot in his voice. "You told us that we were only going to attack WindClan to show them our strength! We were only going to show them that we were a strong Clan! You never said that you wanted to _kill_ Onewhisker so that _you_ could become leader!"

Another cat stepped forward. "And you said that StarClan wanted there to be a fifth Clan! You said they sent you a dream telling you that, Mudclaw! That's one of the reasons why we agreed to join you!"

The fear was evident in Mudclaw's eyes. "They - they do! They did! They did send me a dream telling me that!"

"He's lying!" the first cat screeched. "Traitor!"

Mudclaw obviously knew that his battle was lost. Without another word he turned and fled across the open ground. No one knew where he was going, but they all knew that he would not get away. He had tried to kill an honorable WindClan cat –WindClan's leader – and he would be punished. Immediately every single cat leapt to their feet and gave chase, Brambleclaw and all the other ThunderClan cats included.

Even though Mudclaw had not gotten but a few seconds head-start, he was already quite a few fox-lengths ahead of them. Brambleclaw could just barely make him out in the darkness. Brambleclaw didn't know where Mudclaw had gotten his energy – the ThunderClan tom was already worn out from the battle, and his paws felt more and more heavy the farther he ran. However, he forced himself to keep going, to keep racing across the sharp green grass.

Now Mudclaw was finally beginning to tire. He had reached the edge of the lake and was heading through the area by the Horseplace that the Clans stayed in when they first arrived by the lake. The brown tom's pace grew slower and slower until finally he came to a stop in the marshland that bordered the lake.

Now that Mudclaw had stopped the other cats gained upon him quickly. Every cat came to a halt in before him, spreading out so that they blocked off his every escape route. Mudclaw slowly began to back away, but for every step he took backwards the other cats took one step forward. Although his hackles were raised and he jutted his chin out defiantly, he was not able to mask the fear swirling in his eyes. The previously outspoken deputy of WindClan was unable to say a word.

At this point Brambleclaw was wondering what exactly they were planning to do with Mudclaw. It didn't seem right to kill him on the spot, but at the same time, he didn't want to simply banish him into the forest. He was sure that none of the Clans wanted this obviously evil cat to be lurking within the trees.

Mudclaw suddenly snapped his head toward the sky. His eyes went wide, and Brambleclaw and the other cats quickly spun around to see what he had spotted. Out of nowhere, a giant brown bird with a white head and sharp yellow talons burst out of the sky. Its enormous wings, which by Brambleclaw's estimate seemed to be the length of over five cats, swished loudly as they propelled the bird across the sky, and its horrible high-pitched screeches echoed through Brambleclaw's ears. Every cat froze in place, staring as it swooped down straight towards the group of cats. Brambleclaw felt the air from its wings ruffle his fur as it soared over his head. Then with one last ear-splitting shriek the brown bird grabbed Mudclaw by the scruff of his neck and took off again back into the sky. Mudclaw's yelps of terror rained down upon the cats until soon they faded away, and both the bird and the evil WindClan cat were gone, vanished into the sky.


	13. Chapter 13: WindClan Returns to Normal

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.**

A/N: Guess what? It's finally summer vacation! No more tests, no more homework… :) I can finally just sleep late, watch TV, and do whatever I want… Oh, and did you guys watch the season finale of American Idol? If you did, were you happy that Lee won, or were you upset that Crystal didn't? I personally wanted her to win, but you know how that ended up. Anyways, I guess you want to read Chapter 13 of this story. Well, sorry, but you can't read it. This is now only a pay-per-read story, and you have to pay me $1,000,000 to read it. So pay up. Haha… just kidding. But seriously. If you don't review this chapter after you do finish reading it, I could find out where you live, and come after you… It wouldn't be pleasant. So, if I were you, I would review. Just a little hint. :)

**Chapter 13**

** "Mudclaw is dead!" A yowl of triumph rose up into the air from a WindClan cat.**

** Another joined in. "Mudclaw is dead! His evil will never spill into the forest again!"**

** More yowls rang out in agreement. "Mudclaw is dead! Mudclaw is dead!" A chant began to spread through the crowd of cats.**

** A MudClan cat stepped out into the center of the circle. "Quiet, please!" he called. "There is something I would like to say."**

** He turned to face the WindClan cats. "I would just like to say how deeply sorry I am for having caused all of this trouble. If the other MudClan cats and I had never joined Mudclaw in the first place he would have been taken care of much earlier. We only believed that he would be a stronger leader than Onestar, and that is why we decided to join him. However, we did not realize what his real motives were in starting a fifth Clan, and I see now that we were very wrong in the decision to join him – his hunger for power caused him to abandon all reason. I'm sorry that we ever wanted to follow such an evil cat. Although I wouldn't be surprised if you treat us as nothing more than rogues, I ask you for your forgiveness and beg you to allow us to return to WindClan." **

**He bowed his head and said no more.**

** Ashfur, a she-cat of WindClan, stepped forward and gently laid her tail on the cat's shoulder. "You only did what you believed to be the right thing," she reassured him. "No cat can be blamed for that." She took a deep breath. "I think I can speak for all of us WindClan cats when I say that fighting against you and the other MudClan cats tonight was one of the hardest things I've ever done. You're not **_**MudClan**_** cats – you're WindClan cats, and you're our friends and family. We shouldn't be facing each other in battle – we should be working together to make our Clan the best it can be. Fighting you was hard enough, and banishing you into the forest would be a hundred times worse. This isn't for certain, because Onestar hasn't given his opinion yet, but if it were up to me I would most certainly allow you back into our Clan."**

** The relief in the brown tom's eyes was evident as Ashfur licked him briefly over the shoulder and then backed away.**

** "Onewhisker isn't just Onewhisker now, he's Onestar!" Crowfeather pointed out in a change of topic. "He really is the leader of WindClan now."**

** "Is Onestar going to be okay?" a small gray she-cat piped up nervously. "Did StarClan heal him completely?"**

** It was Firestar who responded. "Yes, he'll be fine now. And he'll have nine lives to protect him in the future." **

** The orange ThunderClan leader smiled for the first time that evening. "In fact, we should be getting back to him – he probably thinks we've **_**all**_** joined MudClan now and will be ambushing him again at any moment!"**

** Brambleclaw fell into step beside Squirrelflight as the large group of cats began to gradually make their way back toward the WindClan camp, where Onestar would now be awake. The amber tom couldn't keep himself from glancing up at the sky every few minutes; his mind kept tricking him into thinking that the huge brown bird had appeared again, with Mudclaw still grasped its talons. However, this wasn't the case. The sky was filled only with the bright, twinkling stars of StarClan that were now beginning to shine with a soft pink glow as the sun peeked over the horizon. When Squirrelflight nudged him curiously for the third time about why he was so jumpy, Brambleclaw stopped looking and kept his eyes on the ground. **

** Onestar was waiting for them patiently in the middle of WindClan's camp. StarClan must have told him what exactly was happening, because he did not seem at all surprised to watch the large group of cats trudge towards him.**

** "Greetings." He dipped his head toward them as if he were a stranger meeting them for the first time.**

** Firestar returned the polite gesture. "Hello, Onestar."**

** The WindClan cats took these words as an opportunity to greet their leader by his new name. "Onestar! Onestar! Onestar!"**

** The faintest of smiles crossed Onestar's expression. "Thank you, but there will be time for that later. First, what has happened to Mudclaw? Did he escape into the forest?"**

** Firestar shook his head. "We chased Mudclaw all the way past the Horseplace, toward RiverClan territory," he explained. "He finally stopped there, and we surrounded him. As we were standing around him, though, a huge brown bird with a white head suddenly came down from the sky, right towards us, and grabbed Mudclaw in his talons. Then it flew straight back into the sky and carried Mudclaw away."**

** "It'll probably feed Mudclaw to its chicks!" a young WindClan apprentice squealed excitedly.**

** "Or maybe it will drop him into the mountains!" Another apprentice added his idea.**

** Firestar flicked his tail gently at the two young cats for silence. "I'm sure whatever happens to Mudclaw will not be pleasant. StarClan was obviously very angry with him if they sent that huge bird down to kill him. I don't think he'll be joining them as one of our ancestors in the sky."**

** "Good riddance." A WindClan queen shook her head unhappily. "I hope I never catch another glimpse of that cat again for as long as I live." **

** The brown tom that had pleaded earlier for the MudClan cats' return into WindClan stepped forward. "He's a threat that we won't ever have to deal with again."**

** Although this brown tom's voice contained the same confidence that it had during his earlier speech, his eyes were troubled with guilt, and as he flicked his ears toward Onestar he looked almost fearful. He stared shamefully at his new leader's feet and then took a shaky breath and began to speak. ****He would be asking for forgiveness from Onestar just as he had from Ashfur, and it would cause either he and his Clanmates' acceptance back into WindClan as warriors or their banishment into the forest as rogues.**

** The tom, who Brambleclaw now knew to be named Amberheart, related the same apology and explanation of his actions to Onestar as he had to Ashfur. Then he stepped back respectfully to allow the WindClan leader to make his decision. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long.**

** "Well, Amberheart, you seem to be truly sorry for your actions, and I know you only thought you were doing the right thing by following Mudclaw." For a moment****Onestar looked as shameful as the cat standing before him. "How could you have had faith in me as a leader if I didn't even have faith in myself?"**

** Brambleclaw felt a pang of sympathy for the WindClan leader, and he suddenly came to terms with how hard it must have been to have been shoved into that level of responsibility without any prior warning. Onestar must have felt as if the whole forest was demanding from him something that he could not possibly give.**

** Firestar's tail swished gently as it landed upon Onestar's shoulder to comfort him. **

** "I know how hard it is to believe in yourself at times. There have been many moments where I have convinced myself that I am a horrible leader, and that I shouldn't be trusted with the responsibility of making choices for my Clan. It's not a weakness to have doubts in yourself, Onestar – everyone does. But I don't think there's a single cat here tonight that doubts you now. You have proved that you're a strong, brave leader, and StarClan will light your path for many moons to come."**

** "Onestar! Onestar!" Crowfeather began another chant to support their new leader, and every cat joined in. By the time it was over Onestar looked both humbled and grateful. **

** "Thank you. Your support means more to me than you can even realize." He smiled, and his voice grew louder. "And Amberheart, I will have your full support now, won't I?"**

** "Of course, Onestar. I'll never doubt you again, I promise."**

** "Well, then I would be more than happy to allow you and your Clanmates back into WindClan. Welcome home."**

** "Thank you, Onestar." Although he didn't show it, Brambleclaw sensed the relief flowing from the brown tom like a waterfall flowing over a rocky cliff.**

** One by one the previous MudClan cats came to respectfully thank Onestar and to promise their loyalty. Luckily they all seemed very remorseful and humbled by the events of the night, and Brambleclaw could not spot any cat that seemed to want to carry on Mudclaw's idea of having a fifth Clan.**

** From that point on life in WindClan seemed to spin itself back into normalcy. Barkface, the medicine cat, busied himself by tending to the wounded cats, while Leafpaw did the same by checking for injuries in ThunderClan. Queens and elders began sharing tongues to relax themselves and put the events of the night out of their minds, and families and friends of the MudClan cats rushed over to welcome them home.**

** "Firestar, thank you so much for bringing your warriors here to help us tonight." Onestar padded over to the ThunderClan leader to speak with them. "Without you I don't think we would have been able to defeat Mudclaw. WindClan owes you a huge debt."**

** Firestar flicked his ear. "We were happy to help, Onestar. I'm just happy that the problem with Mudclaw has been taken care of and that WindClan is back to normal."**

** Onestar nodded. "I think I'm starting to get used to this leader job too," he joked.**

** Firestar chuckled. "It gets easier with time. Oh, and you'll be appointing a new deputy by moonhigh, won't you?"**

"**Of course. I'm thinking of giving that position to Ashfoot – she's strong and wise, and she's popular with all of her Clanmates."**

**Firestar nodded, he gaze flickering over to the gray she-cat. "I'm sure she'll be very pleased to hear that." He then rested his tail on Onestar's shoulder. "Take care, Onestar – we'll see you at the next Gathering."**

** He signaled to the ThunderClan cats with a flick of his tail, and they leapt to their feet. Following their leader, they sped off into the sunrise towards their home.**

So, about that review… There's the button right there. You know what to do. :)


	14. Chapter 14: Journey to the Moonpool

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.**

A/N: Hey guys! Okay, only one quick thing to mention before you read this chapter! I totally spaced the fact that Mothwing doesn't believe in StarClan until I had finished the chapter, and I was too lazy to go back and add a whole section on Leafpaw going to tell her about the Moonpool. So, for this story's sake I'm going to pretend that she believes in StarClan just like everybody else, and that StarClan sent her a dream telling her about the Moonpool. That way she'll meet with the other medicine cats at half-moon without any interference from Leafpaw. That makes my life much easier! Anyway, go ahead and read Chapter 14, and don't forget to review!

**Chapter 14**

** A warm, musky scent suddenly filled the air around Leafpaw. It wrapped gently around her as softly as the long, swaying grasses of WindClan's territory, and as it did she felt her heart leap in her chest. She bounded to her feet and raced out of the medicine cat den, swiftly turning the corner into the clearing.**

** She then ran right into Crowfeather.**

** He mrrowed softly with laughter and gently untangled himself from her. "Hello, Leafpaw."**

** "Hi, Crowfeather," she whispered shyly. **

**Leafpaw closed her eyes and let his soft scent engulf her. He drew closer, and her fur tingled as he brushed against her. She leaned into him, every inch of her body radiating with happiness as he wrapped his tail around her.**

"**I love you, Leafpaw…" he whispered.**

**O O O**

**Leafpaw's eyes flew open. Gasping, she scrambled to her feet, shaking herself to clear her head of the dream that was still stretched inside of it like a cobweb.**

"**Don't tell me you're finally up!" Cinderpelt appeared in the doorway of the medicine cat den. She smiled at Leafpaw. "It's about time. Now you can help me sort this herb pile – it looks like a litter of kits came through and destroyed this place." The gray she-cat rolled her eyes. "Which is what probably happened when I had my back turned."**

**She looked more closely at Leafpaw when the apprentice didn't answer. "Leafpaw, are you okay?" Cinderpelt frowned. "You have an odd expression on your face." **

**Leafpaw shook herself one last time and forced a smile onto her face. "I'm fine – still just a little sleepy. Here, I'll get that burdock root that fell into the corner and re-stock it by the marigold."**

**She hurried off to complete her self-appointed task before Cinderpelt could ask her any more questions. As she worked she tried to make sense of the dream she had just experienced.**

**It had been so vivid… Crowfeather had been there, right next to her, whispering that he loved her… She had felt so **_**happy**_** when she had heard those words. Even though she didn't want to admit it – she didn't even want to think that it was true – Leafpaw had to confess that she had been horribly disappointed when she had realized the whole thing was just a dream. Crowfeather had been constantly creeping up into her mind ever since they had found the Moonpool together, and the more she thought about him, the more she realized that she **_**did **_**want to experience that dream in real life. She wanted to feel Crowfeather next to her; she wanted to hear him whisper that he loved her. Leafpaw didn't know how it had happened, but somehow she had fallen in love with the smoke-colored WindClan warrior.**

**But suddenly she was so **_**angry**_** at herself for letting it happen! How could she, a ThunderClan medicine cat, ever possibly be with a WindClan warrior? It was against medicine cat rules, and more importantly, it was against the warrior code! It just didn't **_**work**_**! There was no way that she and Crowfeather would ever be together.**

_**Besides, who am I kidding? **_**Leafpaw thought crossly to herself, shoving the herbs into piles much more forcefully than she needed to. **_**Why do I even think that Crowfeather shares my feelings? He's a WindClan warrior, and I'm a ThunderClan medicine cat. We live in two separate worlds. He barely even knows me, let alone loves me. **_**The entire thought that Crowfeather might love her too was ridiculous.**

**With this in mind Leafpaw forced away every detail of her dream as well as the whirlwind of feelings and thoughts that were racing through her mind. She forced herself to forget Crowfeather and she promised herself that she would never, ever, think of him again. She swore to herself that the only dream she would ever follow was the dream of being a medicine cat, and the only love she would ever have was the love of serving her Clan. As far as she was concerned, Crowfeather no longer existed.**

**O O O**

"**Are you done with those traveling herbs yet, Leafpaw? We need to be leaving soon – it's nearly sundown." Cinderpelt called to her apprentice from across the clearing. **

"**Yes, I've nearly got them done! Just give me one more minute." Leafpaw added the last herb to the mix. "Finished."**

**That night was the night of the half-moon, and so Leafpaw and Cinderpelt were getting ready to journey to the Moonpool. Leafpaw was eager to return to the Moonpool and to show it to Cinderpelt for the first time. She felt that the bubbling pool of water was even more magical than the Moonstone back in the old territory, and she hoped that her mentor would feel the same way.**

**Leafpaw had been concerned at first that the medicine cats of the other Clans may not have received dreams from StarClan showing them the Moonpool, but she need not have worried. Barkface of WindClan, Littlecloud of ShadowClan, and Mothwing of RiverClan were all waiting eagerly for them by the river that led to the starry pool. They all bounded over to the two ThunderClan medicine cats as soon as they appeared and immediately began congratulating Leafpaw on her discovery of a way to communicate with StarClan. She thanked them modestly and swore that any cat really could have found it, but inside their praise filled her with pleasure.**

"**What exactly did you find, Leafpaw?" Littlecloud questioned. "All I was told in my dream was to meet here with the other medicine cats at the half-moon because you found a place called the 'Moonpool'."**

"**Yeah, what is the Moonpool?" Mothwing asked. "Where is it?"**

"**The Moonpool is basically the same as the Moonstone," Leafpaw explained, "but instead of a rock it's a tiny bubbling pool connected to this river. It's much higher up on the river, past the edge of WindClan's territory."**

"**How did you find it?" Barkface mewed. **

"**Spottedleaf, one of ThunderClan's past medicine cats, came to me in a dream. She showed me how to get to the Moonpool, and then she said that if I followed the path she had shown me, I would find StarClan. Once I had woken up I followed that path, and I came upon the Moonpool just like she said I would. StarClan talked to me there and told me that we could communicate through it just like we had the Moonpool." **

**Leafpaw decided to make no mention of the fact that Crowfeather had helped her find it. She didn't know if he had said anything about it to any of the WindClan cats, but Leafpaw assumed he hadn't because Barkface did not say anything about him.**

**The other medicine cats took a minute to absorb what she had said. Leafpaw soon became tired of waiting, though, and finally asked if they could get going so that they could reach the Moonpool. "It's amazing," she promised. "I can't wait to show it to you."**

**It took them longer to reach the Moonpool than it had Leafpaw and Crowfeather, considering they had to stop every now and then to let Cinderpelt rest her leg. Even so, they reached it well before moonhigh. **

"**Wow," mewed Littlecloud as soon as they stood before its glittering waters. "This **_**is**_** amazing." **

**The wind swirled around Leafpaw and whispered in her ear just as it had before.**

"**Well," Barkface chuckled, "we might as well not just stand here. What do you do in order to reach StarClan, Leafpaw?"**

"**I'm not really sure," Leafpaw admitted hesitantly. "The first time I came here StarClan just kind of … appeared."**

"**Then maybe we should all just lie down around the pool," Barkface suggested, "and maybe StarClan will come to us then."**

**Leafpaw suddenly had an idea. "Wait!" she mewed. "Back in the old forest we had to touch the Moonstone with our noses in order to be connected with StarClan, right?"**

**The four other cats nodded.**

"**Well, then maybe we need to dip our noses into the water in order to reach them here."**

**The other cats shrugged. "We'll see if it works."**

"**Wait." Cinderpelt stopped the medicine cats before they could settle down around the water. "There's something I'd like to do first." She smiled down at her apprentice. "Leafpaw, come here, please."**

**Leafpaw assumed she was going to congratulate her again on finding the Moonpool, but she was a bit irritated at her mentor for doing so. She was eager to meet with StarClan in her dreams, and besides, she had already been thanked and congratulated quite a few times. She was starting to feel embarrassed by all the attention.**

"**Leafpaw," Cinderpelt began, "was chosen by StarClan to find the Moonpool and I believe that this shows how much they trust her. I too trust and respect her, and I have watched her grow into a caring and capable medicine cat." **

**Leafpaw felt as if the breath had been knocked out of her. Was Cinderpelt really doing what she thought she was doing…?**

"**That is why I, Cinderpelt, medicine cat of ThunderClan, call upon our warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the way of a medicine cat, and with your help she will serve her Clan for many moons."**

**Cinderpelt turned to her apprentice. "Leafpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between the Clans, and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"**

"**I do." Leafpaw's voice shook with excitement.**

"**Then by the powers of StarClan I will give you your name as a true medicine cat. From this moment on you will be known as Leafpool, in honor of you discovering this Moonpool. StarClan honors your loyalty and faith."**

**Cinderpelt laid her muzzle on Leafpaw's head, and she licked her mentor's shoulder.**

"**Leafpool! Leafpool! Leafpool!" Mothwing began a chant for her friend, and soon the other medicine cats joined in. **

**Leafpool glowed with pride. "Thank you," she whispered. She turned to her mentor. "Thank you, Cinderpelt," she repeated.**

**Her mentor smiled down at her. "You deserved it. Now, let's go ahead and meet with StarClan."**

**As Leafpool lay down next to the bubbling pool and dipped her nose into the cool water, pride and happiness flowed through her. She was a full medicine cat! In this moment she felt like nothing, not Crowfeather or anything else, mattered more. In this moment she knew that she would be happy to spend the rest of her life serving her Clan.**


	15. Chapter 15: A Talk With Hawkfrost

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.**

A/N: Hiya guys! So… I'm pretty bummed that school starts in only like two and a half weeks. I can't believe how fast the summer went! But at least the fall brings good things too – like the second seasons of Glee and Modern Family and a new album from Taylor Swift. :) Those are definitely things to look forward to! Well, hope you like this chapter! And of course remember to review :)

**Chapter 15**

** A soft, pink ray of sunshine was just beginning to creep over the horizon when Brambleclaw awoke that morning. Although he wasn't required to be up so early, he wasn't tired enough to go back to sleep, so he quietly got up and left the warrior den. The dawn patrol had already left, so the amber tom decided to go out into the forest to hunt on his own.**

** He had just left the bramble-covered entrance tunnel when he heard someone call out behind him. **

** "Hey, Brambleclaw!" Squirrelflight bounded out the tunnel after him. "Wait for me!"**

** He stopped for a minute so that she could catch up to him. "Do you want to go hunting with me?" **

** She rolled her eyes. "No, I just ran all the way out here to tell that I **_**don't**_** want to go hunting with you."**

** "Well, then go back to sleep!" he retorted to her sarcasm.**

** "I'm just kidding! Come on, let's go!"**

** Brambleclaw followed her out into the forest. The air still had a cold chill to it that the sun had yet to banish, and the early-morning dew was settled among the leaves of the bushes and trees. Brambleclaw's ears rang with the chirps and squawks of birds beginning their day. He wished that he could catch them, but they were too high up in the trees for him to reach.**

** They decided to hunt by the stream that marked their border with WindClan, which housed plenty of squirrels, voles, and other small creatures. The two cats said little as they headed in that direction, content simply to have each other's company. **

**As they approached the river Brambleclaw picked up the slight scent of WindClan on the breeze – their dawn patrol must have traveled past recently. The sound of bubbling water met his ears.**

** It was not long before Squirrelflight pricked her ears. "Listen," she hissed softly. "I think I hear a squirrel over by that tree." She flicked her tail in the direction ****of the sound.**

** Brambleclaw stopped and crouched down low to the ground so that he would not make any noise. "You're right," he whispered, listening to the soft scuffling sound that came from beneath the tree. "Go for it!"**

** Squirrelflight crouched down beside him in a hunting stance. Slowly she eased herself toward the squirrel. Her tail twitched slightly in anticipation, but it wasn't enough to alert the creature of her presence. It took no notice of her until she was just a fox-tail away. Twitching its ears, it snapped its head up, but it was too late. Squirrelflight pounced and killed it with a quick bite to the neck.**

** "Nice one!" Brambleclaw congratulated the she-cat on her kill.**

** At that moment the amber tom caught the scent of a nearby vole. "Now it's my turn!" he mewed. He quietly came up behind it as it was busily trying to crack open a snail. He killed it as swiftly as Squirrelflight had the squirrel.**

** They buried their catches under a tree; the two cats would retrieve them as soon as they decided to head home.**

** Before they could continue through the forest on their hunt, though, Brambleclaw caught the scent of both RiverClan and WindClan drifting towards him. This time he didn't think it was just a dawn patrol.**

** "Wait," he whispered, stopping Squirrelflight with his tail. "Do you smell that?"**

** She paused to taste the air. "RiverClan!" she hissed angrily. "And WindClan! What are they doing in our territory?" **

** He rested his tail on her shoulder. "Relax, they may not have crossed the WindClan border. Let's head toward the border and see if we can spot who it is." **

** She nodded, and they padded toward the river that marked their border with WindClan.**

** To Brambleclaw's surprise, Hawkfrost was sitting at the border along with Crowfeather, who was looking quite annoyed. The smoke-colored tom muttered something under his breath and rose to his feet quickly as they approached. **

** "All right, they're here," he mewed briskly to Hawkfrost. "I'll leave now."**

** Hawkfrost nodded. "Thank you for escorting me here, Crowfeather."**

** Crowfeather nodded once in reply, and then again towards Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight in acknowledge of their presence. Then he turned tail and headed back towards WindClan's camp.**

** "Leopardstar has given me a message to take to all of the Clan leaders," Hawkfrost informed them once the WindClan warrior was out of sight. "I spoke to WindClan first, and then Crowfeather escorted me across their territory to this border so that I may come to your Clan. Will you take me to see Firestar?"**

** Brambleclaw nodded. "Of course," he mewed to his half-brother, excited at the prospect of getting to talk to him. "We'll take you back to camp." **

** "Wait!" Squirrelflight quickly pulled him aside. "Brambleclaw, think for a minute! This could be a trap! WindClan and RiverClan could be in an alliance together to ambush us! What if Hawkfrost is just some sort of distraction to make us more vulnerable?"**

** Brambleclaw shook his head without fully digesting her words. "Hawkfrost wouldn't ever do something like that."**

** "I know you trust Hawkfrost because he's your half-brother, but he's part of a different Clan, Brambleclaw. His loyalty will always lie first with RiverClan."**

** "I still don't think RiverClan and WindClan would be trying to ambush us, though. They're not angry with us; they have no reason to attack. Let's just take Hawkfrost to see Firestar, and we'll watch out for signs of danger along the way."**

** Squirrelflight hissed. "Fine," she muttered in a tone that clearly stated that it was not fine.**

** Brambleclaw didn't press the subject, but instead pushed down his irritation and headed back toward Hawkfrost. Squirrelflight followed behind him.**

** "Is everything okay?" Hawkfrost asked, concern showing in his ice blue eyes. "I won't come back to your camp if you don't want me to."**

** "No, it's fine." Brambleclaw reassured him quickly. "We'll take you to see Firestar."**

** He and Squirrelflight headed back over to the tree to pick up their fresh-kill, and then he lead the way into the forest.**

** The three cats were silent as they padded through the trees. Brambleclaw wanted to talk to Hawkfrost – he was curious to learn more about the cat that looked so much like him and shared his father – but he felt uncomfortable talking to him while Squirrelflight was there. He knew that the she-cat mistrusted Hawkfrost, which still bothered him. Brambleclaw had always been mistrusted by other cats simply because Tigerstar was his father, and Squirrelflight had always sympathized with him for that. But now here she was, mistrusting another cat for what he believed to be nearly the same reason. **

** They arrived back at camp to find most of their Clanmates up and about. They all seemed surprised to see Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight return with both prey and a RiverClan warrior.**

** "What is **_**he **_**doing here?" squealed Birchkit excitedly. The small kit had been playing by the entrance tunnel when they had come in. "Did you capture him and make him a prisoner?"**

** Brambleclaw shook his head. "No, unfortunately it's nothing that exciting," he told the kit, holding back a **_**mrrow**_** of laughter. "Hawkfrost has a message for Firestar."**

** Sandstorm approached them then, and Hawkfrost dipped his head to her politely. "May I speak to Firestar?" he asked. "Leopardstar has a message that she would like for me to give him."**

** "Of course. He's in his den – I'll take you to see him." **

** As soon as they had disappeared Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight turned to drop off their catches at the fresh-kill pile.**

** To Brambleclaw's surprise Squirrelflight avoided him completely. She refused to speak to him or even look at him, which irritated him even further. What had he done to offend her so much? He had only disagreed with her when she had thought that WindClan and RiverClan were planning an attack, and stood up for Hawkfrost when she thought he was behind it. What was wrong with disagreeing once in a while? He finally decided that she was being unreasonable. She shouldn't get so upset over things like that. The amber cat returned her cold shoulder.**

** In just a short period of time Hawkfrost reappeared out of Firestar's den with the Clan leader at his side. "Brambleclaw, will you take Hawkfrost to the ShadowClan border, please?" Firestar requested.**

** "Of course." Brambleclaw was glad that he alone was being chosen. Now he would finally have a chance to talk to his half-brother.**

** Hawkfrost seemed to want to talk to him as well. As soon as they were out of earshot from the ThunderClan camp, he asked, "So how are you doing, Brambleclaw? I haven't gotten a chance to talk to you since that last Gathering."**

** "I'm doing well, thanks. How about you?"**

** "I'm doing well too." He glanced at Brambleclaw. "May I ask you a question about ThunderClan?" When Brambleclaw nodded he continued. "Your old deputy, Graystripe, disappeared before we made the Great Journey over the mountains, didn't he?"**

**Brambleclaw nodded again.**

"**Well, then why hasn't Firestar replaced him yet? He can't still believe that Graystripe is alive."**

**Brambleclaw shrugged. "I think there's a part of him that knows Graystripe isn't alive, but he hasn't accepted it yet. Firestar and Graystripe have been friends nearly since they were kits; I don't think he can bear the thought that his friend is dead. That's why he keeps convincing himself that he's not."**

**Hawkfrost furrowed his brow. "But he's putting your Clan in danger by refusing to replace him with another deputy. Every Clan needs one to be strong."**

"**I know. That's what I've thought too ever since Graystripe disappeared. He's also breaking the warrior code by not choosing one." It felt good to share his frustrations about the situation with someone who understood. **

"**Do you want to be deputy, Brambleclaw?"**

**Hawkfrost's question caught him by surprise. His immediate reaction was to say yes, but then he made himself think about the question for a moment before actually answering.**

"**I…I guess," he finally decided. "I mean, yes, I would like to be deputy and then maybe even leader too. But sometimes I'm afraid that wanting power like that makes me seem, like, well, Tigerstar. I'm afraid that everyone's going to assume that I'm following in his footsteps."**

"**I feel like that sometimes too. But we have to put ourselves apart from him, Brambleclaw. We have to show our Clanmates that we're going to do good things, not bad. Besides, Tigerstar wasn't all bad. He was clever and a powerful leader – it was his disrespect for the warrior code that caused him to fail. He should have followed the code and used it to make him stronger."**

**Hawkfrost smiled at his half-brother as they reached the ShadowClan border. "I think you'd make a great leader, Brambleclaw. You shouldn't doubt yourself as much as you do – I think your Clan respects you more than you realize. If I were Firestar, I would be happy to choose you to be the Clan deputy. I know you'd work very hard to protect your Clan."**


	16. Chapter 16: Almost a Deputy

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

**A/N: Chapter 16… Hope you enjoy! Review and I will make you cupcakes that look like baby ducks! Oh yes. I can do that. (:**

Chapter 16

Hawkfrost had given Brambleclaw a lot to think about. After talking to his half-brother he realized that he was right. Brambleclaw _did_ need to place himself apart from Tigerstar; he needed to show his Clanmates that he would do good things, and he would do everything he could to serve his Clan.

The best way to do that was by becoming deputy. After all, Hawkfrost had also made him realize that he wanted that position. He wanted to help lead his Clan. The amber cat enjoyed the satisfaction he felt when he organized the morning patrols, or helped decide on a battle plan, or just gave a fellow Clanmate advice. He enjoyed helping to run the Clan.

_And what's so bad about that? _he thought to himself. That didn't make him evil like Tigerstar, not if his only intention was to serve the Clan.

He decided that he would ask Firestar about becoming deputy that afternoon. He would point out that not having one was making the Clan weaker, and he would also offer to be only a temporary replacement until Graystripe returned. That way Firestar wouldn't become defensive about whether or not his friend was still alive, but at the same time he would still see that it was logical to have another deputy.

O O O

Brambleclaw slipped through the entrance of the ThunderClan camp just as Firestar was calling a Clan meeting.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather around the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" he called from the middle of the stony wall that rose up the side of the Clan's camp.

Brambleclaw made it a point to not sit down beside Squirrelflight. Instead he chose a spot next to Brackenfur and Sorreltail, and she plopped down next to Leafpool. The flame-colored she-cat whispered something in her sister's ear and sent a blazing glare his way, but he turned his head the other way and ignored her.

"As you all probably know, Hawkfrost came here this morning with a message from Leopardstar," Firestar began. "It's nothing to cause panic; RiverClan isn't angry with us or any other Clan. They just wanted to tell us that the area by the Horseplace isn't going to work as a Gathering Place anymore; we have chosen a new place for tomorrow's Gathering."

"Why doesn't it work anymore? Where are we going to meet now?" a chorus of questions filled the air.

"It seems that the horses are frequently being let loose there. Hawkfrost says that Twolegs have been climbing up onto their backs and riding them around. It's not safe for any of us to be there. Leopardstar has suggested that we meet in between the marsh and the river instead - the horses never cross the marsh, so they won't bother us there."

"But Gatherings are supposed to be held on neutral territory," Ferncloud pointed out. "If we meet there we'll be on RiverClan's territory."

"I know," Firestar agreed. "But this isn't going to be permanent. It's just until we find a better place to meet."

"What if there isn't a better place to meet, though?" Dustpelt mewed. "None of the Clans have found any place that would be suitable to use as a Gathering Place."

"All we can do is keep looking," Firestar reasoned. "Eventually I hope will find a suitable place."

He flicked his tail to signal the end of the Clan's meeting. The ThunderClan cats immediately broke up into small groups and began to share their opinions on the situations.

Brambleclaw, however, did not join in; this wasn't the most prominent thing on his mind. Instead of joining in on the conversations he rushed to catch Firestar and speak to him before any other cat did.

"Firestar!" he called as he approached his leader. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

The orange cat nodded. 'Of course, Brambleclaw. What do you need?"

"Well…" Brambleclaw wasn't sure how to approach the subject. He thought for a moment before saying hesitantly, "Can… can we go into your den?"

Firestar's brow furrowed in surprise, but he didn't hesitate. "If you'd feel more comfortable in there we certainly can. Follow me."

Once they were seated in the cave Brambleclaw finally got up the nerve to ask his question. "Firestar," he began hesitantly. "I know you miss Graystripe, and I know that you hope he'll return to our Clan someday. I do too. But I'm afraid that you're putting ThunderClan in danger by choosing another to replace him. Having a deputy keeps a Clan strong and gives it protection."

He took a deep breath. "That's why I wondering if you'd allow me to be the Clan deputy. I've been helping with all the duties of a deputy already – I've been assigning patrols, organizing apprentice training, helping decide on battle plans, and giving you reports. And I wouldn't have to be a permanent deputy – I could just be a replacement for Graystripe until he comes back."

Firestar seemed to be thinking over what the amber cat had said. After a few minutes of silent contemplation he sighed heavily and mewed, "You're right, Brambleclaw. I have been weakening ThunderClan by not choosing a new deputy, and I've been selfish to not choose one because I think Graystripe will come back someday. Even though Graystripe was a great friend and I will never forget him, I need to move forward and do what's best for the Clan."

He paused for a moment to give Brambleclaw a long look. Although it wasn't unkind, Brambleclaw still felt nervous, like the flame-colored tom was staring into him.

"As for you being deputy," Firestar finally mewed, "I believe that's a good idea as well. You've shown good leadership qualities, Brambleclaw, and I know how much you care about ThunderClan; I know you'll serve the Clan to the best of your abilities. Just give me a little while to think it over so I can be sure I'm making the right choice."

Brambleclaw nodded, thanked the ThunderClan leader, and then headed out of the den. He was surprised at how easily Firestar had agreed to his request. He had thought that it would be nearly impossible to convince the orange cat to allow him to be deputy, but instead he had agreed to it almost immediately. Well, no – not immediately. He didn't want to jump to conclusions. Firestar was thinking it over, he still had the possibility of changing his mind. But just the fact that he was considering it made Brambleclaw's heart leap in his chest. He suddenly realized that this _could_ happen - he could become deputy, and possibly leader someday too.

The amber cat suddenly wanted to share everything was feeling with Squirrelflight. He was searching for her fire-colored fur when he remembered that he couldn't – they still weren't speaking to each other after the fight they had had that morning. He scanned the clearing for someone else to share it with – maybe Brackenfur, or Cloudtail – but both of these cats were already busy talking to someone else, and so was every other cat in the Clan. The only cat that was sitting by herself was – as luck would have it – Squirrelflight.

Brambleclaw sighed in frustration, but then tried to be more positive. He might as well take the opportunity to try to resolve their argument. He was already missing their easy friendship; every time they fought it stabbed him like a physical pain.

Squirrelflight startled when he padded up to her; her eyes widened. "What do _you_ want?" the orange she-cat hissed, immediately wary.

"To apologize," Brambleclaw mewed before she could get any harsh words in. "Look, I'm – I'm sorry for what happened this morning. I know you were only trying to help, and even though you weren't right -"

"I wasn't _right_?" Squirrelflight's eyes blazed indignantly.

"Well – no -" Brambleclaw sputtered. "I mean, obviously you weren't; Hawkfrost or RiverClan didn't attack us, but that's beside the point -"

"Oh, so I'm just nothing compared to Hawkfrost, as usual!" Brambleclaw had somehow managed to make Squirrelflight even angrier. "He's always right and I'm always _wrong_, isn't that what you think, Brambleclaw?"

The amber tom tried desperately to back-track. "That's not what I said!"

"That's what you implied! I'm not stupid, Brambleclaw!"

Brambleclaw's surprise suddenly boiled over into hot rage. "Why do you have to be so _difficult_ all the time?" he snapped loudly. "You never just _listen_ to me! You have to turn everything into a fight! Like now, I come over here to apologize, and you turn it into _this_!"

"Oh, because you're idea of an apology is just _so_ great! 'You weren't right, but you're just a stupid little kit that's never going to be as smart or as wonderful as Hawkfrost -'"

"Maybe you're right! Maybe Hawkfrost _is_ smarter than you! For one thing, he would be reasonable about this and not make such a big deal out of _everything_! Maybe you _should_ just be more like him!"

This was the breaking point for Squirrelflight. Her eyes glistened with hurt; her voice became painfully quiet. "Fine, Brambleclaw, I get it. I'm just not important to you anymore, am I? I'm not as important as Hawkfrost."

She stared directly into Brambleclaw's eyes, and he felt as if the breath had been pulled out of his body. "You know, I used to really care about you, Brambleclaw. I used to think… we had something more than friendship. But I guess I was wrong… we don't."

Squirrelflight stared into his eyes for a minute more, as if she were taking her last look at him. Then she turned around and walked away. As he watched her leave all of Brambleclaw's anger crumbled into sadness; he felt as if the earth, the sky, and all of StarClan had crashed down around him, burying him in a mountain of pain.


	17. Chapter 17: Meeting with Crowfeather

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

**A/N: I know I haven't written a new chapter in a while, but I've finally found the time to write now that it's summer. So here you go! Reviews are wonderful, but that's obvious. (;**

Chapter 17

The moon was rising into the sky and the stars were just beginning to twinkle as the cats of ThunderClan left for their second Gathering in their new home.

Leafpool bounced excitedly between Squirrelflight and Sorreltail; she was among those chosen to go to the Gathering. She was hoping that Firestar would announce to the other Clans that she had become a full medicine cat.

"Alright, let's go!" Firestar's voice rang through the crowd. He trotted though the entrance tunnel and Leafpool and the other chosen cats headed after him.

O O O

ThunderClan was the second Clan to arrive to the new Gathering place. RiverClan barely had to step foot out of their camp to reach the agreed-upon spot. Leafpool could feel the tension in the air - she knew her Clanmates felt nervous about being inside of RiverClan territory. They had been taught since birth not to intrude upon another Clan's territory, and here they were, sitting on the marshy ground of RiverClan. It felt strange, even if it was just for a Gathering.

Leafpool immediately searched the moving swarm of cats for Mothwing or Littlecloud, but she didn't spot either. She then unconsciously found herself searching the clearing for coal-gray fur. She spotted Crowfeather at the front of the WindClan cats, who were just now arriving. His blue eyes caught hers for a split second, and she turned away quickly, an uncomfortable tingle running down her spine. She suddenly hoped that ShadowClan would arrive quickly so that the Gathering could start.

StarClan apparently had other plans. In what felt like a moon later ShadowClan had still not appeared, and Leafpool jumped as Crowfeather's voice sounded behind her.

"Er, Leafpool?" The tom's musky scent drifted around her. "Could we... talk?" The tabby she-cat found herself nodding before her mind had made a decision. She followed Crowfeather to a more secluded spot, a little ways away from the large, mingling group of cats. As they sat down, Leafpool tried to avoid looking into his eyes; they would make the butterflies in her stomach so much worse.

Crowfeather gulped. He seemed to be struggling over the words on his tongue, and his eyes darted everywhere except for Leafpool. Finally he mewed, "Look, Leafpool... I'm not sure how to say this. But ever since we found the Moonpool together... I – I can't stop thinking about you. I don't know what it is, and I don't know if you feel the same way. But all I know is that I want to see you more... It's like I'm drawn to you." He stopped abruptly, and suddenly looked directly into Leafpool's eyes. He seemed to being trying to judge her reaction.

It took a minute for his words to sink in. When they did, Leafpool's heart seemed to leap out of her chest and fly like a bird into the sky. Never mind the pact that Leafpool had made with herself to forget Crowfeather, because this was what she had secretly been hoping for. She couldn't believe that he had been thinking of her just as she had been thinking of him. Did he want to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him?

So many thoughts were running through Leafpool's mind that she suddenly realized she hadn't given Crowfeather any reply yet. She was having so much trouble breathing that she could barely get her words out of her mouth.

"I know," she finally mewed. "I feel the same way."

Crowfeather's eyes lit up. "You do?" When Leafpool nodded his tail twitched excitedly. "Would you maybe want to meet me tomorrow night? At moonhigh?"

Leafpool nodded again. "Yes," she breathed. "I'd like that. How about at the border of our Clans? By the stream?"

"That's perfect." Crowfeather smiled, but then shot a nervous glance back toward the crowd of cats. "Look, I know cats of different Clans are allowed to talk and sit together, but I don't want anyone to become suspicious. You understand, right? Our Clans would wonder how we know each other. So let's sit in different places."

Leafpool agreed again. Even though she wanted badly to be near him, she didn't want to raise suspicion either. She could picture the look that Cinderpelt would give her if she had any idea of Leafpool's feelings for Crowfeather. The she-cat stole a quick glance into Crowfeather's alluring eyes, and then stood up, peeking out into the clearing. Crowfeather gently flicked his tail against her ear, causing sparks to shoot down Leafpool's spine. Then he turned and was quickly swallowed into the storm of cats.

Leafpool found she could not properly focus on the Gathering, and she barely noticed when Firestar announced that she had become a full medicine cat.

O O O

The soft glow of the moon led Leafpool past the slumbering form of her mentor and out of the medicine cat den. It was the night after the Gathering, and the she-cat was eager to keep her promise of meeting Crowfeather. Just as she had the night she snuck out to find the Moonpool, she quietly tread through the dirtplace entrance, and after checking to make sure the nighttime guard didn't notice, she sprinted into the forest. Soon she arrived at the stream that separated ThunderClan from WindClan. The bubbling water reflected the shining stars of StarClan, and as Leafpool stared at them she suddenly felt terribly guilty. What was she thinking? She shouldn't be here. Meeting with Crowfeather was a mistake that would inevitably lead to pain. The she-cat shook her head, trying to force herself to make the right decision - the decision in which she would turn around and walk back to her camp. If she was smart at all, she would go back to her plan of forgetting Crowfeather. Seeing him was _wrong_, it was against the warrior code!

Suddenly something appeared that made these thoughts tumble out of her like rocks over a cliff. Crowfeather. The smoke-colored tom held a look of apprehension in his eyes as he came into view, but as soon as he saw Leafpool, it melted into joy.

"Hi," he murmured in an uncharacteristically shy voice. "I'm glad you came."

"Me too," Leafpool mewed, smiling up at him. Any lingering doubts that her mind contained disappeared when she looked into Crowfeather's eyes. All that mattered was the happiness she felt when she was near the WindClan cat. In that moment, her heart seemed to have won the battle with her mind.

"So." Leafpool spoke when Crowfeather remained silent, staring into her eyes. "Where do you want to go? I feel uncomfortable here at the border of our two Clans. A night border patrol could easily spot us."

Crowfeather nodded his agreement. "The edge of both our territories isn't far from here. Let's go out into the neutral land where no one will see us."

They set off, walking side by side. For a few minutes they were comfortable walking in silence, but eventually Crowfeather began a conversation.

"On the night that we went to the Moonpool," he mewed, "How did StarClan come to you? Do they always appear to you like that when you speak to them?"

Leafpool answered after thinking for a moment. "They just came to me as soon as I walked up to the Moonpool. I think they appeared so quickly because they were eager to show me that they had followed us to our new home. When I went there with the other medicine cats, though, we had to dip our noses in the water to contact them. It used to be like that in the old forest too, with the Moonstone. As soon as I pressed my nose against the stone, they appeared and spoke to me. It's the magic of those two places that allows us to connect with StarClan. The only other times we see them is in dreams."

"I thought that they only appeared to medicine cats, but I could see them too." Crowfeather questioned her again.

"Well, I think that you could see them because you were with me. They do present themselves to warriors, though, if they have a specific reason."

"Oh, like when Tallstar spoke to us during the battle with WindClan! After Mudclaw tried to kill Onewhisker, Tallstar appeared and told us that he would be healed and given his nine lives."

The two cats continued their conversation long beyond the time that they passed into neutral territory. The moon was low in the sky before they finally realized that they should be heading back to their territories. As they padded back the way that they had come, Crowfeather moved closer to Leafpool so that their fur was touching. Then he gently intertwined his tail with hers, and a wonderful warm feeling spread throughout Leafpool's body. Her happiness in that moment equaled that of being given her medicine cat name. She knew it would be extremely difficult to leave Crowfeather's side when they reached their separate territories.


	18. Chapter 18: ThunderClan's New Deputy

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

**A/N: Reviews are nice(:**

Chapter 18

Brambleclaw awoke with a chill to his fur that seemed to creep down into his bones. During the night, a layer of frost had settled on the forest foliage, and the ThunderClan camp now sparkled in white. However, there was more to Brambleclaw's cold feeling – like the fact that he was sleeping alone in a corner of the warrior den. Since their fight, Squirrelflight refused to sleep by him and even talk to him – she only muttered monosyllabic words in his direction when forced. Brambleclaw missed her company so much that it pressed a constant physical pain into his stomach. The anger he had felt towards the she-cat was completely gone; now he felt only guilt. Every day he hoped that Squirrelflight would show him some sign of forgiveness, but she was too stubborn. The last words that she had said to him still echoed in his mind: "I used to think we had something more than friendship..." Brambleclaw felt the same way – he had gradually begun to realize that he had feelings for the orange she-cat. Now the amber tom worried that he had lost any chance of ever being with her.

Brambleclaw also had one more nagging worry on his mind. Four days ago he had spoken to Firestar about becoming ThunderClan's deputy, and the leader had asked for a few "moments" to think it over. However, he still had yet to make a decision. Brambleclaw had come close to asking him about it, but then decided against it every time; he didn't want to seem too insistent. So he was left to simply worry about what was taking Firestar so long to make up his mind.

Luckily, this worry was soon to be resolved. That morning, when the sun was halfway to the sky, Firestar leapt up to Highledge and called, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather around the Highledge for a Clan meeting." Once everyone was settled, the ThunderClan leader began to speak.

"Before we left for our new home," he mewed, "when the destruction of the Twolegs raged in the forest, we lost many Clanmates. One of these was my best friend, and our deputy, Graystripe." Firestar bowed his head as a wave of sorrow swept over him, and many of the other cats did the same. "I've neglected choosing a new deputy because I've hoped that Graystripe will somehow find his way back to us. Even now I still hope that he will, but whether he does or not, ThunderClan needs a new deputy."

Brambleclaw's breath caught in his throat. This is what he had been waiting for! But would Firestar choose _him_ to be the new deputy?

"I have carefully considered who would make the best deputy," Firestar continued, "and I think I know who would make the perfect fit. He's already been helping with the duties of a deputy, and I know he's willing to do anything to help this Clan."

Firestar's gaze landed squarely on Brambleclaw. "Brambleclaw, come here, please."

All eyes followed Brambleclaw as he padded up to the Highledge. The amber tom suddenly felt so nervous that he could barely put one paw in front of the other. He sat down at the base of the rock wall, and Firestar jumped down and turned to face him. "I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirit of our ancestors may hear and approve my choice. From this day forward, Brambleclaw will be the new deputy of ThunderClan. He has shown the courage and skill needed to succeed at this position." Firestar smiled at Brambleclaw, and Brambleclaw dipped his head toward his leader in gratitude.

As he stepped away from Firestar, his nervousness ebbed away and was soon replaced by pride. He was ThunderClan's deputy! He had achieved a major accomplishment, and perhaps now everyone would judge him by _his_ actions and not Tigerstar's.

His Clanmates began to call "Brambleclaw, Brambleclaw!" and he unconsciously turned toward Squirrelflight, forgetting their argument for a moment. He grinned at her, and a flash of a smile flashed in her expression before she too caught herself and her eyes grew cold. As quick as it was, the smile made Brambleclaw feel a sense of relief, even as the she-cat turned away. He was ThunderClan's new deputy, and he was ready to do whatever it took for Squirrelflight to forgive him.


	19. Chapter 19: Hawkfrost's Plan Begins

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

**A/N: This chapter is a little different because it's from Hawkfrost's point of view – I felt like switching things up a bit. Hope you like it! **

Chapter 19

"You remember what I told you to say, right?"

"Well, yes, but –"

"But what?"

"Hawkfrost, this isn't a good idea. I don't see why you need to be deputy so badly, and it's not fair to Mistyfoot –"

"You don't need to be concerned with whether it's fair or not, Mothwing. And I disagree when you say it's not a good idea. What could possibly be wrong with me being deputy?" Hawkfrost's cold blue eyes stared directly into his sister's. "Besides, you owe me. Or have you forgotten who helped you become RiverClan's medicine cat?"

Mothwing dipped her head in compliance. "No, Hawkfrost."

"Good. Then let's go find Leopardstar."

They found the RiverClan leader speaking to one of their Clanmates. They waited patiently until she was done, and then Hawkfrost mewed, "Leopardstar, my sister had a dream from StarClan that she needs to share with you."

Leopardstar looked at Mothwing. "Go ahead."

The medicine cat nervously shifted her weight from foot to foot. "Well, StarClan sent me a dream saying..." Mothwing trailed off, and then gulped. "They said that Mistyfoot might not be the best deputy for our Clan."

A look of shock etched its way across Leopardstar's face. "What?"

Mothwing bowed her head. "I wouldn't believe it either, if it had come from anyone but StarClan. But they showed me that Mistyfoot has broken the warrior code."

Leopardstar's eyes grew even wider. "How?"

"Mistyfoot's loyalty isn't with RiverClan," Hawkfrost cut in.

His sister nodded. "She's been spending time at night with a WindClan warrior."

The RiverClan leader sat back, trying to digest their words. "You're sure that this dream was from _StarClan_?"

Mothwing hid the look of unease in her eyes. "Positive."

Leopardstar was silent for a few moments. Then her eyes searched the clearing for her deputy. Upon finding Mistyfoot, she called her name, and the she-cat padded over.

"Mistyfoot, I'm afraid that Mothwing has had a dream from StarClan that involved you."

Mistyfoot looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"StarClan says that your loyalty now lies with a WindClan warrior."

Mistyfoot was stupefied. "What?" She looked to Mothwing. "StarClan told you that I'm seeing a cat from another Clan?" When Mothwing nodded, Mistyfoot stammered, "But – but it's not true! Leopardstar, I assure you, my loyalty is with our Clan! I've never been with any WindClan warrior! Please, you've got to believe me!" Her eyes darted desperately between the three cats, and her tail flicked unhappily.

Mothwing's eyes were suddenly wet. "There's a possibility that I might have misinterpreted the dream –"

Hawkfrost interrupted his sister. "StarClan does not lie."

All eyes went to Leopardstar. The leader shook her head, and then sighed. "I'm afraid that Hawkfrost's right. If we can't believe StarClan, than who can we believe? Mistyfoot, I'm afraid I'm going to ask you to step down from your position as deputy. I'm very disappointed in you, and I expect this relationship of yours to end immediately."

Mistyfoot winced with every word that left her leader's mouth. Her shoulders slumped, and her misery was evident in her expression. However, the will to fight seemed to have left her body; she nodded obediently. Mothwing stared at her as though she was trying to apologize telepathically.

Hawkfrost was the only one who seemed pleased; he couldn't quite hide his smug expression. When Mistyfoot and Mothwing both trudged away, he mewed to his leader, "Leopardstar, if I may ask, who are you going to choose as a new deputy?"

"I'm not sure, Hawkfrost. I'll have to think about it."

Hawkfrost nodded. "Of course." The tom hesitated for just a second, and then added, "If I might be so bold, would you perhaps consider me as a suitable replacement?" When he noticed Leopardstar's look of surprise, he continued, "I often help Mistyfoot with her responsibilities." He leaned in a bit to his leader. "And I promise that you can trust me. I've never lied to you, and I never will."


	20. Chapter 20: Leafpool's Realization

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

**A/N: Hey guys, hope you like this chapter. Please review(: **

Chapter 20

Leafpool could not erase Crowfeather from her mind. It had been three days since the evening that they had spent together, and she had thought of little else since. She kept replaying their time together over again in her mind, especially the moment when Crowfeather had intertwined his tail with hers. In that moment she had felt so wonderful. She had felt like nothing else in the world mattered, not even StarClan or her medicine cat duties.

In fact, Leafpool hadn't paid much attention to her medicine cat duties even without Crowfeather beside her. So much of her thoughts were occupied by the smoke-colored warrior that she was having a hard time focusing on herbs and wounds. The other day she had given Brightheart feverfew instead of catmint, and when Cinderpelt asked her to collect some alder leaves, she had brought back burdock instead.

These slips hadn't gone unnoticed by Cinderpelt. She asked Leafpool repeatedly if something was bothering her, but Leafpool always shrugged guiltily and claimed to be losing sleep because of the "blood will spill blood" prophecy. This placated Cinderpelt for the time being, but the she-cat still eyed Leafpool with a dubious look every time she thought her mentee wasn't looking. A nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach told Leafpool that Cinderpelt knew there was something more going on. She vowed to push Crowfeather out her mind until the nighttime, when she could see him in her dreams.

The next night Leafpool did see Crowfeather, and not just in her dreams. They met for the second time at the border of their Clans while the moon cast an eerie white glow onto the landscape.

Leafpool hadn't gone to sleep that night for fear she would doze through their meeting time. Then she darted out of the medicine cat den a bit too eagerly, not noticing when a few leaves fluttered in her wake. One landed directly on the tip of Cinderpelt's nose.

O O O

This time Crowfeather was the first to arrive at the river between their territories. Leafpool's heart fluttered wildly at the sight of him, and the tom's eyes blazed at the sight of her. He seemed to have lost his shyness – instead of letting the she-cat come to him, he barreled towards her and slid gently into her side, knocking them both to the ground.

Leafpool was taken aback by his boldness. He was suddenly treating her like they had been friends since they were kits. But then she realized that was exactly how she felt – like she had known Crowfeather her entire life.

She _mrrowed_ with laughter as they both rose to their feet. "Hi, Crowfeather." Happiness was already bubbling inside of her.

"Hey, Leafpool." Crowfeather quickly licked her cheek, and the she-cat's breathing stopped for a moment. "What do you want to do tonight?"

"Anything." Leafpool smiled. "Just as long as I do it with you."

O O O

A little while later, Leafpool and Crowfeather sat in a clump of grass that was just starting to turn green with the spring. Their tails were intertwined and they were staring up at the stars.

During their time together that evening the two cats had tried to catch fish in the river (which not surprisingly had been a failed effort) and they had raced each other across the grassy plain. Being with Crowfeather had made Leafpool feel like a carefree kit. She had, in fact, perhaps felt a bit _too_ carefree. Neither she nor Crowfeather had bothered to speak in whispers as they had their last night together, and both cats also failed to notice that a bush they walked past held a pair of glowing blue eyes.

As Crowfeather and Leafpool sat beneath the stars of StarClan, Crowfeather told Leafpool about the attack WindClan had suffered from the-now dissolved MudClan. "It was one of the worst nights of my life," the coal-black tom admitted. "I never imagined I'd have to fight against my own Clanmates. When I had to kick or scratch one of them, I did it halfheartedly, because I couldn't bear the thought of hurting one of my past friends. You were the ThunderClan cat that I was happiest to see, because I knew you could help Barkface heal the cats that I felt so guilty for hurting." Crowfeather sighed, and his eyes glazed over as if he was reliving that night.

Leafpool thought over his words. For some reason she had assumed that Crowfeather wasn't very dedicated to WindClan – if he was, then why would he risk seeing her? But now she realized just how loyal the black tom was to his Clan – after all, he had fought his own Clanmates to protect his Clan. Leafpool suddenly felt guilty. Was she as dedicated to ThunderClan? She had thought so before, but now she wasn't so sure.

The tom beside Leafpool suddenly turned to her. "Leafpool? What made you want to become a medicine cat?"

Leafpool thought for a moment. "Well, when I was kit, I was apprehensive about the idea of being a warrior – the idea of having to fight another cat scared me, and I didn't like the thought of being hurt in a fight. I started watching the medicine cat to reassure myself that the cats that were hurt could be healed. And when I was watching Cinderpelt work, I realized that I wanted to do that too – I wanted to help heal the cats in my Clan. I realized that I could serve my Clan much more as a medicine cat than as a warrior."

As Leafpool detailed this story to Crowfeather, she thought about the journey she had undergone to become a medicine cat, and how much her position meant to her. Helping the cats in her Clan gave her such a sense of purpose; it gave her a sense of belonging.

Leafpool suddenly realized that in these past few days she had let not only herself down, but also her Clanmates. She had been thinking about Crowfeather so much that she hadn't given enough attention to her duties, and forgetting her duties had caused her to forget her dedication to ThunderClan. A feeling of guilt threatened to overwhelm her, a feeling as strong as if she had eaten a rotting mouse. She could endure letting herself down, but she couldn't bear the thought of letting her friends and loved ones down.

She had to admit that she felt overwhelmingly happy when she was with Crowfeather, but she felt the same way when she successfully healed a cat's wound. And she loved that that happiness came from herself, not someone else.

The feelings in her mind that had been muddled for the past few days suddenly became painfully clear. "I – I have to leave." Leafpool abruptly finished her story and rose to her feet, hating the feeling of pulling her tail away from Crowfeather's.

Crowfeather seemed to miss the anxiety in the she-cat's voice. "You're right, it's getting late. I'll walk you back to the border." He rose to his feet, and then looked surprised when Leafpool shook her head no.

"I need to be by myself right now," she mewed to the coal black tom. "I'm sorry."

Crowfeather's face held an expression of confusion as the she-cat backed away. "Leafpool, what's wrong?"

"Nothing – I... I'll see you at the next Gathering, okay?"

"But that's not until practically another moon – Leafpool, wait!"

Crowfeather's words were lost in the wind; Leafpool was already galloping away.

As Leafpool ran, a strange mix of anger, sadness, and relief crashed inside of her. She was angry at herself for so easily abandoning her medicine cat duties for Crowfeather, but relieved that she finally felt certain about which path to take – the path of a medicine cat.

A sense of calm slowly began to replace Leafpool's other emotions. She slowed to a walk and took a few deep breaths. She was nearly at the ThunderClan camp; the thorn-covered entrance tunnel was visible in the distance.

Suddenly there was a loud rustling in the bush to Leafpool's left. She snapped into alert, unsheathing her claws. The rustling grew louder, and the bush began to shake. Leafpool backed up, panic coursing through her. Was it a fox? A badger? An attacking cat from another Clan?

It was, in fact, a cat. But not a cat from another Clan – it was Cinderpelt. After emerging from the bush, she shushed Leafpool's gasp of surprise and herded her back the way she had come, out of sight of their camp. Then she stopped behind a tree and looked her mentee directly in the eye.

"I followed you tonight."

Leafpool's stomach dropped to her feet. "Cinderpelt, I –"

The gray cat shook her head. "You don't need to apologize, Leafpool. I understand." Her blue eyes searched Leafpool's amber ones. "Being a medicine cat isn't easy. It's hard to accept that you'll never be able to fall in love, find a mate, or have your own family, especially when all your friends are. I felt the same way when I first became a medicine cat. But it's a sacrifice I learned to make; it was the best way to serve my Clan. And I've grown to love what I do. Knowing that I helped heal a wounded cat is the best feeling in the world." The she-cat sighed. "You can make whatever choice you want, Leafpool. You can choose Crowfeather. But that choice is going to come with consequences. And if you choose him, you won't have my support."

Cinderpelt looked at Leafpool for a few long seconds. Then the gray she-cat rose to her feet, and after turning away, began to pad towards the ThunderClan camp.

Leafpool wanted to follow Cinderpelt, to tell her that she was so sorry for everything, but something held her back. She felt like a naughty kit who had been scolded by its mother. She needed to be alone for a while so she could sort out her guilt and sadness. Her mentor had reconfirmed what she had realized tonight, what she had known all along: she couldn't be with Crowfeather. She had to follow the path of a medicine cat.


	21. Chapter 21: A Meeting with Hawkfrost

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

**A/N: Yay, this story is finally heading towards an end! Hope you like this chapter – review if you feel like it(:**

Chapter 21

"The fresh-kill pile is looking a little low, Brambleclaw. Will you take out a hunting patrol?"

"Sure thing, Firestar." Brambleclaw's eyes scanned through the camp, determining which cats looked the least busy. Squirrelflight was in the midst of a conversation with Leafpool, and her name had nearly rolled off Brambleclaw's tongue before he thought better of it. As much as he wanted his fight with the orange she-cat to end, he didn't think inviting her to a hunting patrol was the best way to do it. His new tactic for the past few days had just been to give her space, in the hope that her anger eventually would melt away with the last of the winter frost.

Instead Brambleclaw selected Brackenfur, Rainwhisker, Whitepaw, and Dustpelt for the patrol. Dustpelt grumbled about being picked, as he had been lying in a particularly warm sun-beam, but the rest were pleased, and the five cats headed into the forest.

Despite the promise of a soon-to-arrive spring, the air was bitterly cold, and the cats trotted quickly across the ground in an effort to stay warm. The prey was scare – probably staying warm in their burrows – and the cats were forced to travel farther and farther across their territory to find something to catch. They finally headed toward the border with WindClan, hoping that the river there would attract a few thirsty critters.

Luckily the cats found the scent of various animals mixed into the sound of trickling water. The five cats split up and headed in various directions in an attempt to find as much prey as possible. Brambleclaw headed toward a thicket, from which came the sound of skittering feet – a bird. The amber tom crouched low to the ground, digging his back feet into the powdery dirt. Then he waited patiently for the bird to make an appearance.

The bird soon hopped out of the bush, fluttering its copper wings. Its beady eyes flickered toward Brambleclaw. The bird didn't sense the danger; it continued to peck haphazardly through the leaves for its own snack. Brambleclaw slowly inched toward it, placing each paw carefully so as not to make a noise. The creature finally realized it was at risk just as Brambleclaw pounced. His claws met it as it leapt into the air. He pulled the bird to the ground, killed it swiftly, and thanked StarClan for the catch.

Brambleclaw was just beginning to bury the bird when he heard another noise behind him: dry leaves crunching under a heavy paw. He unsheathed his claws quickly and spun around mid-dig. To the tom's surprise Hawkfrost was sitting calmly behind him, a few feet away. He rose to his feet once he had caught his half-brother's attention and walked toward him with a lazy, almost pretentious gait.

Brambleclaw felt his curiosity spill over like a river after a long rain. "Hawkfrost, what are you doing here? Is something wrong in RiverClan?"

The tabby tom shook his head, and then glanced suspiciously around the clearing. "Is anyone else with you?"

"Well, I'm part of a hunting patrol, but they headed in different directions. Why?"

Hawkfrost moved closer to Brambleclaw, as if he were wary of the trees eavesdropping on their conversation. "WindClan allowed me to cross their border because I said that I needed to speak with Firestar, but I was really hoping to find you. I have some news that I think you'll like."

Brambleclaw was surprised that his half-brother would risk crossing two Clan territories just to speak to him, but he was also a bit flattered. "What's the news?"

"Guess who the new deputy of RiverClan is?"

Brambleclaw blinked in confusion. "What do you mean? Did something happen to Mistyfoot?"

A trace of an unreadable emotion passed through Hawkfrost's expression. "It was discovered that her loyalties don't lie with RiverClan," he mewed quickly.

To say that Brambleclaw was surprised was an understatement. "What? What do you mean?"

Hawkfrost hesitated. "Leopardstar asked us not to talk about it… Anyway." A hint of irritation wet Hawkfrost's tongue. "Don't you want to guess who the new deputy is?"

Brambleclaw was silent for a moment; he was still trying to work through the surprise of Mistyfoot's removal as deputy. Then he shook away his confusion and forced himself to focus on his half-brother. "Well, you seem excited, so… you?"

Hawkfrost nodded. He couldn't keep a smug grin from touching his face. "I was very honored and… surprised that Leopardstar chose me."

Brambleclaw smiled at his brother. "That's great, Hawkfrost!" He regarded his half-brother and their similarly-colored coats, mirrored faces, and extra-long front claws – all inherited from one of the most evil cats in the Clans' history. "You know, I'm proud of both of us. We may look like Tigerstar, but we've risen above the prejudice that our Clanmates held for us because of his actions. We've both become deputies fairly."

Hawkfrost's smile faltered for a second, but then reappeared before Brambleclaw noticed it was gone. "Yes… we've gained power in a much smarter way than Tigerstar." Hawkfrost's next statement took Brambleclaw by surprise. "Soon we can be the leaders of our Clan."

"Soon?" Brambleclaw questioned. "What do you mean, _soon_?"

Hawkfrost's suspicious eyes traveled around the clearing once more like a night-time border patrol. "Look, Brambleclaw." he whispered. "Mudclaw and Tigerstar had great ambitions, but they both made terrible mistakes. Mudclaw turned everyone against him from the start. Tigerstar was caught with blood on his paws. But we're smarter, and we have something that neither of them had: each other. We can do it together, Brambleclaw."

A terrible knot of confusion and horror was settling itself into Brambleclaw's stomach. "Do what together, Hawkfrost?" He was afraid he already knew the answer.

"Take over the four Clans, of course!" Hawkfrost's voice was rising with intensity, and his ice-blue eyes squinted with malice in a way Brambleclaw had never seen before.

Brambleclaw's fears were confirmed. "Why would you want to do that?!"

The malice in Hawkfrost's eyes was replaced by confusion. "You agreed with this plan before!"

"What would give you that idea?"

"At that first Gathering… We were talking about MudClan, and how we would do a much better job if we were to make our own Clan. I said we could take over all four Clans, and you agreed!"

"I thought you were kidding!"

"Of course I wasn't kidding! Think of what we could do, Brambleclaw, with the power in our paws..!"

Brambleclaw couldn't help but simply stare at Hawkfrost. How had he suddenly turned into a different cat? Brambleclaw had thought that he was gaining a new a friend, even the brother that he had always wanted. But suddenly the kinship that he had begun to feel for the tom felt like it had been pulled from beneath his feet without his consent. All of the distrust that he had held for his half-brother before he knew him came flooding back. Hawkfrost's ambitions were just as evil as Tigerstar's, and Brambleclaw would not be associated with that evil again.

Brambleclaw squared his shoulders against the tom with the cold blue eyes. "Look, Hawkfrost. I became the deputy of my Clan fairly. And if I ever become leader, I will do that fairly as well. I've lived my life by the warrior code, and I will continue to do so in the future."

With this statement Brambleclaw retrieved his catch and padded back into the forest without meeting his half-brother's eyes again.


End file.
